Fragile Bonds
by falseforecast
Summary: [SasuNaru] Convinced that it would help him, Naruto leaves the village. After years of absence, Naruto returns before the start of the jounin exams completely changed. What crazy measures will his friends take to change him back, especially his rival?
1. Thinking Back

Yarr! My first Naruto fic! I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to start this thingy, seeing as I don't know what to do with it. Still, I had the urge to write something and this is what I'm doing. I plan on finally trying to continue a long story and actually get past 5 chapters. Haha. 

Edited by Ghostninja85

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 1: Thinking Back

* * *

_"Stay away from him! He's dangerous!" an elderly woman hissed, dragging a small child away. The little brown haired boy turned around to meet his eyes with sad, emerald orbs._

Naruto sighed. "Grr…" he frowned and turned to face the wall. "Why me?"

It always bothered him when people threw spiteful glances at him as he walked down a street or into a store. There was never a day that he could go without being glared at. On some occasions, those who had the guts would actually lash out.

As years went by, the irritation from that treatment began to disappear. He had found the respect and acknowledgement that he needed from his friends. Still, he did have his bad moments. Like now…

"Kyah! I should have done something!" Yes, he could picture it now.

He would be standing there in all his triumphant glory, cackling as the woman was stuffed into a garbage bin, headfirst. He punched the air with his fist. "Yeah!"

He sighed. "Yeah, right. A huge mob of old women would come and run me over after that."

It wasn't as bad as it used to be. After realizing that he was indeed a good ninja and helped the village, the people began to soften up a bit. Though they still glared at him every once in a while. He was their way to vent out their anger.

* * *

Naruto yawned, sitting up in his bad. He stretched an arm out and scratched the back of his head with the other. He glanced over at the clock.

9:13 A.M.

'At least I don't have any missions today,' he thought. Naruto tried to get out of the bed when a sudden pain shot through his back. "Eep!!" he squeaked as his feet tangled with the bed sheets, dragging everything down onto the floor.

"Why does everything hurt so bad…?" he squirmed his way out of the sheets, rubbing his sore back.

_'Idiot…'_

Naruto winced. "Oh yeah," he said, a hint of distaste apparent in his voice. He sighed again. "Why does he always get away with everything?"

Dumb question.

'That's right,' he thought. 'He's the great Uchiha Sasuke! Everyone praises him and wants to be like him! Women kiss the ground he walks on!' He didn't notice himself mouth out everything he was saying, making ridiculous movements to go along with it. He even took a sheet and wrapped it around his head, kicking his heel into the air like a girl.

"Ah, is this a new dance?"

Naruto immediately ran into the mirror, falling onto his bottom. He yanked off the sheet and glared at his visitor. "Can't you use the _door_ like _normal_ people?! People need their privacy!" He huffed, folding his arms across his chest and turned away.

'Stupid former sensei and his stupid lateness and stupid inability of using the door.'

Kakashi grinned, taking joy in troubling his old student. "Why don't you go get dressed? I'll wait here."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just listen to your sensei, okay?"

"You aren't anymore and even if you were, I wouldn't listen," he said rather childishly. He stuck his tongue out, adding to the effect.

"Fine, fine. Just go get dressed already. We're going somewhere."

Naruto still wasn't listening. He was a bit stressed out since bringing Sasuke back. It was irritating. Naruto was always blamed throughout his entire life for something he never actually did, and after Sasuke randomly stomps off to go get his ass hacked off, everyone just welcomes him back with open arms. Some people even had the nerve to try and blame him for it.

_'That demon boy is having an influence on him, that's all! It's not his fault!'_

He bit down, hard. His teeth made an ugly, cracking noise from the pressure. And even more annoying was that Sasuke didn't say anything against it. He just stood there, letting them put the blame on him. That just made him hate the raven-haired boy even more.

"Erm, Naruto?"

He shook his head. 'Forget about that jerk,' he thought. "Uh… what if I refuse?"

A mischievous glint formed in Kakashi's eye. Even with his mask, it was enough for Naruto to know that he was smiling.

"I don't think that's an option!" he said, jumping into the room from his spot on the windowsill. He waved a camera in front of Naruto's face. "Well, unless you don't mind my showing these pictures to everyone. I can see the look on Sakura's face now."

Naruto's eyes bulged.

"Oh, and I wonder what Sasuke would do?"

At this point, Naruto's eyes were on the edge of popping out of his sockets.

Naruto went red in the face. "Dammit!" he lunged at the jounin, trying desperately to save his pride. Of course, he failed and instead hit the floor. Again.

"Nah uh. You can't have it until you go get changed."

Finally accepting his defeat, Naruto decided to do as Kakashi said. He stomped out of the room mumbling something about a chicken and a sharp, pointy object. Kakashi thought about this for a moment trying to put two and two together. He shook his head. On second thought, he didn't want to know.

* * *

The blonde continued his grumbling all the way through his morning tasks. He wiped his face off with his towel and was about to leave when something caught his eye. He turned to the counter to see a small frame. It was the picture of Team 7.

'Why is that here?'

Naruto couldn't remember when he had moved it. He smiled. As much as he would like to deny it, he actually liked doing those silly missions. Of course, they had gotten dull once in a while, but it was still fun. In a way, he kind of missed Kakashi's late arrivals (though that hasn't really changed), Sakura's lectures, and yes… even Sasuke's attempts to walk all over him. Okay, maybe he didn't miss _that _aspect of Sasuke.

Everyone had moved up from their genin positions. Shikamaru was still a chuunin as well, but he was sure that he'd be moved up to the jounin level soon enough. I doubt he'd even have to lift a finger. Naruto pouted. 'I guess being a super genius pays off sometimes.' he thought.

Well, it didn't really matter. It was still fun working with him. Ever since Shikamaru was appointed the mission to bring back Sasuke, he had developed a strong trust in Naruto and the other three.

_Shikamaru and Naruto sat around a small fire. "Mission accomplished," Shikamaru said. Despite having completing their task, the satisfaction in having done so wasn't there. The others had been left behind…_

_He shifted. 'What if the other three hadn't made it? What if they-'_ _he shook his head. 'No, they'll come back. I'm sure of it.' He glanced over to Naruto._

_The blond sat with his legs crossed and arms folded across his chest. He seemed to be in deep thought. Shikamaru smirked. 'If it was possible for him to think anything aside from ramen or becoming the next Hokage.' He frowned._

_"Hey, Naruto."_

_His companion opened his eyes and looked at him questioningly._

_"What…" Shikamaru stopped. The blond raised an eyebrow. "What did you do to convince him to come back with us?" he asked. For the first time since they had brought him back, Shikamaru spared the sleeping boy a glance. Sasuke was curled up by the fire looking just as exhausted as the other two did. He had been in that state when he found them both. _

_Naruto thought about this for a moment. What did he do to help him anyway? He rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Hehe. Actually, I don't really know myself. One moment we were fighting and the next, I was bringing him back."_

_That wasn't the answer Shikamaru had expected, but realizing that Naruto had mixed feelings over the question himself, he decided to leave it at that. He didn't really care, in any case. He never really did like the guy. Still, he was glad in the end that Naruto had come along. It's true; he was the only one that could have brought Sasuke back. Had he not come, the mission would have been a failure. I doubt any of them would have been able to bring him back. _

_What confused him was why Naruto made such an impact on the other boy. The two were complete opposites and would argue just about every time they were together. 'Yet…' he was starting to get a headache. 'I'm not even going to think about it, it's so bothersome.' _

_This brought up another question. "How did you beat that sound nin?" _

_Shikamaru smirked. "Despite the large difference in our strengths, I was able to fight her off for a while, but I knew that I was at a disadvantage." Naruto looked at him in confusion. He sighed. "I got some help."_

_"Eh? Help?" he gestured for him to go on._

_"Yeah, Temari came along to help."_

_"Temari?! You mean that girl with the huge fan? Are you sure?"_

_Shikamaru slapped his forehead. Sometimes, Naruto made him tired. "Yes, I'm sure!"_

_Naruto folded his arms again. "So, if she was here…"_

_The other boy caught on. "Yeah. Kankuro and Gaara must have come as well." This raised their hopes. He saw a hopeful glint in Naruto's blue eyes. "Well, since she helped me…"_

_"Then we were helped by the others."_

_Naruto and Shikamaru spun around. "Neji!" Naruto yelled. He jumped forward to hug his friend._

_"Aah! No!" He sent a swift punch to Naruto's head, knocking him to the ground. _

_"Oww... Okay, no hugs. Got it."_

_Shikamaru sighed in exasperation, turning his attention away from the blond. Naruto was _really_ good at giving him a headache. "Then where are the others?"_

_"Right here."_

_Naruto looked up from his new place on the ground. "Chouji! Kiba! LEE!" They all stepped out of the dark, accompanied by Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara. _

_Shikamaru smirked. The mission had started out with five members sent to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and ended with nine members. 'I don't think we would have made it alive, had it not been for them.' He smiled seeing all of them gathering around the fire._

_"Mission accomplished," he whispered to himself. It was only then that he really felt as though he had completed his mission. _

Naruto smiled. Two years had passed since then and everything had gone back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get. His smiled dropped. "It has been a while since I've seen the others without it being mission related," he whispered.

"Oi, Naruto! You done?"

He frowned and went back to grumbling.

'Stupid Kakashi and always interrupting him.'

* * *

A pink-haired girl sat cross-legged on a picnic table. She tapped a finger on her chin. "How long does it take to get someone?!" she flung her arms up in the air.

"This is too troublesome…" mumbled a bored Shikamaru.

"Oh, stop complaining!" Ino yelled, her hands on her hips.

This earned a grunt from Shikamaru. "Whatever. It wasn't my idea to send Kakashi of all people to do this," he said, lying down on the grass.

She shook her head. 'He finds _everything_ troublesome,' she thought. 'Why did I have to fall in love with this guy?' she smiled, watching her lazy boyfriend doze off.

"I must agree, Sakura. Why did you ask Kakashi?"

Sakura slumped her shoulders. Why had she anyway?

"I-uh… Well…"

Lee sighed. "It's okay, he'll come eventually," he said, putting a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. She smiled.

"I don't know about that." She frowned. Knowing Kakashi, it wouldn't surprise her if it took him another three hours to get Naruto here. Something clicked. She turned around to the group of people, seated at random areas on the hill.

"Hey, Sasuke!"

He was leaning against the tree, a leg crossed over the other. He looked up.

"Why don't you go check up on them?" she said, a pleading look in her eye.

"Hn." He pushed off with his back to a standing position. "Why should I be the one to go get that idiot?"

"Oh, come on!" she pouted. "Please?"

He took off without another word.

"Are those two still fighting?" Lee asked sadly.

Sakura had to smile at that. "When have they not?" They've been at each other's throats since the very beginning. 'Maybe this'll give them a chance to patch things up…' She clapped her hands together. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she beamed at everyone. "Let's get to work!"

* * *

Hm, that was rather dull wasn't it? Sadly, my stories always start off like that. Er, with fanfictions at least. I always have to give explanations for what happened. Sorry if I changed the way things went during the mission to get Sasuke back. If I remember correctly, the parents of Neji and Chouji came to get them. Wait, or am I thinking of that scene where they go to fight Gaara? AAAHH!

Ah, whatever. I just know that I didn't get to see what happened to the others after that point. From then on, Naruto and Sasuke were fighting. Well, it will get much better later on! I promise!! Please let me know what you think. I don't like flames, but constructive criticism is always welcome.

Oh yeah! I'll be replying to reviews in this section. If anyone needs to ask questions or something or if I need to say something, I'll just do that here.


	2. Decisions

Well, getting at least a few reviews is enough for me! It just seemed like more people were reading my story without reviewing. Feedback, feedback! I'd love to know what you think about my story, good or bad!

To be truthful, right now I think this story is a piece of crap (sigh). Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 2: Decisions

* * *

_"I made a promise to her and I'm not about to break it!"_

A chill ran up the raven-haired boy's spine as he remembered those words. He could still recall the mixed feelings that came with the intensity behind them. Sasuke knew what he had heard, but it seemed like there was something more… a much deeper meaning behind it. Only problem was that he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He shrugged it off, and continued on his way to his rival's home, jumping from roof to roof. He stopped when he came to the correct apartment building, standing on the roof of another across it.

'Now which one was it…' he scanned each room and smirked as his eyes caught hold of an open window.

Sasuke made a jump to the apartment building. After a few quick hand seals, he shoved his hands in his pockets and scaled the side of the building effortlessly. He came to a stop and jumped onto the windowsill. He squatted down and peered into the room.

He raised an eyebrow and quickly flung his body backwards, barely dodging a kunai. He gathered chakra to his feet and quickly pressed them firmly across against the wall.

"Ah, Sasuke!"

He shot a glare up at the older man. "And what was the point of that? I have a feeling you knew who I was,' he scowled.

Kakashi only smiled, his eye curving in delight. The jounin backed away from the window to give the other boy room to come in. "So, why are you here? You haven't come to try and do anything to Naruto have you?" he smirked.

Sasuke frowned, ignoring the question. "I'm here because of _you_."

"Ah. Well, you see… that was because-"

He turned his back to Kakashi. "Don't even bother."

The silver-haired jounin grinned under his mask. 'I win.'

Another boy walked into the room, stretching out his arms. "Okay, okay. I'm ready now. You better treat me to some ramen as payment for barging into my apartment for no reason," he mumbled adjusting his sleeve. He stopped as he noticed a familiar figure standing by the window. The two gave each other piercing looks.

A sweat drop rolled down the side of Kakashi's face. "Well, since he seems to be here for the same reason, I guess I can go," he said. Neither one acknowledged him at the moment. He slumped his shoulders and brushed past Sasuke. He glanced quickly back at the two before leaving them to themselves.

"What are you doing here?!" Naruto spat.

Sasuke sighed and shoved his hands back into his pockets. "It's not like I wanted to come here, idiot," he stopped and waited for a reaction. The blond clenched his fists and was about to retort when Sasuke interrupted him. "Sakura asked me to."

This blew away whatever comeback he had in store for the Uchiha. "Sakura?"

"That's what I said, idiot. Or do I have to repeat myself?"

"Stop calling me that!" He said, growling.

"Before you try to start anything, we might want to get back to the others," he said, clearly enjoying his victory over his rival.

And for the second time that day, Naruto went into a mumbling spree.

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Sakura whined. Even with Sasuke, they were still taking quite a while. 'Please don't tell me they got into another fight! Maybe asking him to go wasn't such a good idea,' she frowned, contemplating her decision.

Neji sighed and leaned against a tree, attempting to escape from the sun's heat. "Why don't we just do this another day? Most of us don't have any upcoming missions."

"He's right. It's already getting pretty late, Sakura," Ino rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

A few of the others nodded in agreement. Sakura sighed in defeat. "All right. We'll try again some other time."

Ino smiled, walking over to Shikamaru. "Will you wake up already?" No response. "Shikamaru?" No response. Her right brow twitched. She bent down and looked lovingly at her companion, leaning in close to his ear. "_Shikamaru!!_" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"GAH!" He looked around in shock.

'What could have made that horrible sound? It ruined his sleep!' he looked around and met the eyes of a certain blond. His lazy expression took its place on his face again.

"That explains it," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" she said, the twitching in her right eye slowly ending.

"Nothing, nothing," he frowned.

'Arguing with her is like signing your own death warrant.'

The two got up and left, Shikamaru following Ino. One by one, the others left as well, leaving Sakura by herself.

She slumped down onto the picnic table, resting her head in her hands. "That's the last time I'm ever going to ask Kakashi for any help."

* * *

The two were arguing all the way through the streets. People threw suspicious glances their way.

"Shut up, you bastard! I shouldn't have even accepted that stupid mission!" Naruto yelled.

"Will you keep your mouth shut, you moron? Everyone's looking at us."

"Like I care! It's not like it's the first time it's happened," he hissed. Sasuke frowned and walked faster.

"Look, the faster we get there, the less time we'll be around each other," he said, trying to make a point to his seemingly uninterested companion.

The dark haired boy smiled in satisfaction in getting the other to shut up, but realized he was very wrong when he received a hard blow to the back of his head. "What was that for, you idiot?" Sasuke hissed, narrowing his eyes dangerously at Naruto.

Naruto blinked. 'W-Why did I do that?' he thought, slowly stepping away. This brought the attention of the crowd to them. People had stopped what they had been doing, silently watching the two boys. 'Why am I so angry?'

He felt like apologizing, but at the same time didn't want to allow his rival the chance to make fun of him. Instead, he decided against it completely. He expected Sasuke to just insult him by calling him 'idiot' or 'moron'.

Naruto was taken by surprise when a shocking pain shot through his jaw. He stumbled backwards gripping his jaw. The bittersweet taste of his blood was beginning to flood his mouth as it seeped through the corners of his lips. Naruto glared up at his opponent and could have sworn he saw a glimmer of guilt before his expression returned to its usual cold expression.

"You total moron," Sasuke spat, making sure that his words only reached the ears of whom it was directed to. "I don't even know why I came back here when I had to continue dealing with the likes of _you_!"

Naruto's eyes widened. He wanted to hiss back at him, yell at him, anything to make the other boy retaliate, but he stopped when it suddenly became hard to breathe. Those words had been painful. His eyes began to sting and he shut them tight, brushing past any body in his way.

_…the less time we'll have to be around each other…_

He vanished into a dead end.

Sasuke, still irritated with his 'friend's' sudden outburst, turned to follow him, ignoring all the blank looks. He wasn't there. A frown marred his fair features. He used the discarded boxes and crates to hoist himself up onto the top of the roof. He scanned his surroundings. Nothing. "Shit," his whispered to himself.

* * *

"So…incredibly…bored," Sakura was in the midst of falling off the bench. She focused all her concentration on staying awake. Well, at least what was left of it.

She could have returned home, but she waited in case the other two finally did show up. Oh, she's got a lot to show her former sensei.

'I guess I shouldn't be surprised. That guy has always been late! And those stupid excuses! The day the word 'early' and the name 'Kakashi' appear in the same sentence would be the day Hell froze over!'

And of course, that wasn't happening any time soon.

"Sakura…?"

"Eh?" she looked up, her emerald orbs meeting black ones. "Oh! Sasuke!" She blushed as she realized she forgot to add the ending to his name that she always used to. She had finally gotten comfortable enough around him to be able to refer to him simply as Sasuke. She looked around. "Where's Naruto?"

"Hn," he grunted and diverted his gaze from the pink-haired girl. "Not sure."

This time, she didn't hesitate to fall off the table. "What?! What do you mean?"

"He took off," he bluntly stated.

The second idiotic decision today. She took a few mental notes.

_Don't send Sasuke to get Naruto._

_Don't leave Sasuke and Naruto alone._

_Don't ask Kakashi for a favor when time is involved._

She sighed. No point in asking them for anything. "It doesn't matter anyway. Our plans were cancelled," she began. "But! Since we're here, how about we go on a date!" she smiled hopefully.

"No."

Sakura hung her head low. She could have sworn a boulder had hit her square in the head. 'Why do I even try?'

* * *

The weather that night didn't betray his emotions. It was windy and it rained for hours.

Naruto was curled up in his bed, waiting for sleep to drape its veil around him so that he could finally escape reality. Sleep never found him. He groaned. "Dammit!" he punched his pillow.

He turned flat on his back and folded his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He did this every once in awhile when he was in thought. At time, it would seem as though patterns and pictures would show up.

The blond squinted. A strange oval like shape formed and it seemed as though there were three tiny, curved flames around it.

_No, not a flame…_

He continued to stare at him when the pattern took shape. "Er…" he turned to his side. "Even the dots on the ceiling are trying to make me miserable!" he sighed, recalling the day's events.

'I wonder if anyone would miss me,' he thought.

_I don't even know why I came back here when I had to continue dealing with the likes of _you!

It made him shudder. He ran the words through his head over and over again until he finally came to a conclusion.

"I'm going to do it."

* * *

'What am I doing here…?' he didn't have to see the sky to be able to tell it was late. 'Now that I'm here, I might as well go through with it.'

The raven-haired chuunin cringed at the thought of the satisfaction the other boy would get from hearing his words. Sasuke took his time in making his way up the stairs to Naruto's apartment, but found himself in front of his door rather quickly.

He took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door. He pressed an ear against the door to listen for footsteps. 'Maybe he's sleeping?' he did a mental victory dance. That way he wouldn't have to look like a fool. Then something caught his attention. He couldn't hear anything, but that was the problem.

He took hold of the doorknob and gently twisted it, surprised to find that the blond had left it open. He gently pushed it open and stepped in, quietly shutting the door behind him. He still wasn't sure if Naruto had just forgotten to lock it.

The bed was empty. Worry seeped into him. Had it been the afternoon, he couldn't have been bothered, but where the hell could he have been when it was around two in morning? Still, he wasn't full convinced that the boy wasn't in his room.

"Naruto?" he whispered. When no one answered, he raised his voice. "Naruto?"

"Maybe he's gone out for a walk," he said, trying to reassure himself that the blond still was close by, but the words sounded false even to his own ears. He didn't have to search the bare apartment to realize it.

He left.

Naruto was gone.

* * *

"He what?!" an angry woman slammed her hands down onto her desk. Had she added anymore force to it, it would have shattered under her palms.

"To put it bluntly… he left the village. He's not here."

Kakashi had tried to explain it in a way that would have been less stressful for her, but it was a worthless effort. It didn't take a genius to realize that Tsunade loved the boy. He was like a younger brother to her if not a son.

Tsunade's anger left, leaving only sorrow and worry. Even with the spell she used to make her appear as if she hadn't aged a day… at that moment, the mask did nothing to hide her true self. She fell back into her chair, balancing her head with one hand. Feeling confident that she had managed to calm down, Kakashi continued.

"Sasuke checked his apartment. It was empty save a few clothes, sheets, and food items. All personal items, had he possessed any, were gone," he said. His voice did nothing to reveal his inner turmoil. The jounin feared for his student's safety. "He and I did a quick search around the village and there wasn't any sign of him."

Tsunade shifted in her seat. "I only hope that he knows what he's doing. At this rate, he could be classified as a missing-nin. We have no idea what his intentions are," she stood up and walked towards the window in her room. The moonlight gave her skin a faint, silvery glow. "If it comes to that, I don't know if even I can do anything."

She frowned and spun around. "Kakashi! Send an ANBU team to retrieve him! _Alive_!" Kakashi hesitated. "Kakashi, I gave you an order. What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, but I know my student. I believe he knows what he's doing." She frowned.

_"A bet?"_

_"Master that technique in one week." Naruto looked up at the woman questioningly. _

_"If you can do that then you have what it takes to become Hokage. And…" she reached up to touch the jewel around her neck. "This amulet will be yours."_

Her gaze softened.

"But," he continued. "Whether or not that is true, I would feel better if I knew he had someone to watch over him."

She nodded in agreement. "Well, then there's only one person for that job."__

* * *

Finally! I got done with the annoying past thing. I know that little scene with Naruto and Sasuke might have made you want to gag, but I needed a reason for him to leave. Review if you like it! I love hearing what people have to say about it. 


	3. Home Again

I'm glad a lot of people have taken a liking to my story. It gets better from here on out! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! Oh, yeah. Anyone mind being a beta reader? I'm lazy and don't like reading through my stories, especially when they get a bit long.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 3: Home Again

* * *

"Bye, Inari!" Naruto waved to the younger man behind him.

"You better come back!" he said through sniffles. Obviously, he wasn't too good at hiding the fact that he was upset.

"You know… you can cry," Naruto began, holding back his own tears.

A somewhat elderly man watched the pathetic scene unraveling before him. 'Geez, even at this age…' he sighed and hunched over.

The other man huffed. "I'm not having this conversation again!"

The white-haired man stomped over to the blond and dragged him by the collar of his shirt. "AH! Hey! Wait!" he waved his arms frantically in the air. "Let go!"

He let his collar go, his back still facing the blond. "If you don't want me to drag you the entire way, walk faster."

"Yeah, yeah," groaned the younger man, falling into step with his companion.

"I'd rather not spend too much time getting there, especially when you-know-who is involved," the older man whispered.

"You don't have to whisper you know. It's not like the hag's going to jump out and eat you, Jiraiya," he stopped walking to think about what he had said.

'Or would she?' he shuddered. 'You can never underestimate crazy old women. Especially crazy old women who seem to have their 'time of month' every damned day.'

"You can't be sure with Tsunade," Jiraiya smirked.

"Whatever. How long could it take?"

* * *

Around 1 day later…

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

The blond walked silently by teacher. Ten minutes of silence passed. "Are we there yet?"

"No."

If there weren't any other ways to entertain himself, he'd just have to settle with bugging Jiraiya. "How about now?"

Jiraiya's left eye twitched slightly. "No!"

"Hmm… now?"

That was the last straw. "Will you shut up, kid?!" he caught Naruto in a headlock, drilling his fist into his head.

"Ow! Ah! Ouch! Eep!"

"Promise me you'll shut up until we get there!" Jiraiya yelled.

"Mmmf!" his face was buried in the man's side.

"I can't hear you!" he said, adding more pressure to Naruto's head. He pushed away, escaping from Jiraiya's strong grip.

"All right, all right! Sheesh!" he said, folding his arms behind his head. Jiraiya sighed and smiled.

'Finally, some peace…'

Naruto tried desperately to find a way to take his mind off the rumbling in his stomach. He hadn't had anything to eat in a while and the hunger had left a dull ache behind. "Jiraiya? Got anything to eat?"

The man lowered his head in defeat. 'I give up. There's just no getting through to this guy,' he thought. He tossed and apple in Naruto's direction.

"What?! An apple? What, you don't have anything better? Like ram-"

"NO!"

"Fine. No need to yell," His eye began to twitch madly. "Uh, old man?" he looked at him for a while before slowly backing away. He looked like he was about to murder the closest thing in site… and that was him.

The two had continued their pace until Jiraiya came to a sudden halt, nearly knocking Naruto over. "Hey, what the?! Why'd you stop?" he raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" They stood before a large gate.

"We're here," Jiraiya announced. He spared Naruto a glance. "You ready, kid?"

"I'm not a kid anymore," he scoffed. He smiled, looking up. "I'm ready."

* * *

"Will you cut that out?!" he yelled, barely keeping the frantic boy down.

"Never!! You can't make me!" Naruto was running for his life, but due to the fact that Jiraiya had a good hold on his shirt, it wasn't likely that he was to get anywhere any time soon.

"You agreed to come back here, you idiot!"

"I'm not going back there! Do you _know_ how long it's been?!"

"Of course! I got stuck babysitting you, remember?!" he began to skid on the ground, his sandals scraping against the ground.

"Let…me…go!"

Jiraiya smirked. "Okay."

"Hu- mmf!" he hit the dirt with a dull 'thud'. Face first. "Ouch…" he got up on his hands and knees, slowly pushing himself up off of the ground. "Damn you, you perverted, old geezer!"

"I'll get you somethin' if you agree to come along," he offered. If bribery was going to get him into that village, then that's exactly what he was going to do.

"That's not going to work on me," Naruto said, dusting dirt off of his clothes.

Jiraiya let out a fake sigh of despair and turned his back to Naruto. "Well, if that's how you feel, I guess that means I don't get to treat you to ramen. How unfortunate…"

Naruto's ears perked up in recognition of his favorite food. "R-Ramen?" he thought about this for a moment. "Fine, I'll go!"

'Hehe. One point for me!'

He turned, a sheepish smile plastered to his face. "I'm glad you see it my way!"

* * *

The fifth Hokage dismissed all room's occupants. Once the final person had left, she turned and smiled to the remaining two standing in front of her. She gestured for them to take a seat in the two chairs across from her own.

"Hello, old hag."

She ignored the comment and took a seat after the other two.

"I can't believe it's you," she whispered, as if afraid that even the slightest noise could cause the figure before her to vanish into thin air.

"Hehe," a faint shade of pink graced his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head with a hand. "Surprise?"

Tsunade shook her head. "How you've matured!" she scanned his form. "Though I see you're still the same brat I knew three years ago," she said, remembering his earlier comment.

"Well, I'm always just myself!" she squinted as she noticed a strange glint flicker in his eyes before disappearing again, only showing that same indescribable blue. "Old hag…" he mumbled.

He immediately took back his words when he received a heavy blow to the top of his head. "Sorry, sorry!" he winced, feeling the already forming bump on his head. "You didn't have to hit me that hard," he pouted.

"You deserved it, brat," she didn't bother to hide her amusement. She turned to her old friend. "Care to fill me in on what you two have been doing these past years?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, we were staying with an old friend of his in the Water Country. Nothing special happened during our absence. Just training and a bit of traveling."

Tsunade returned her attention to the blond who was now fiddling with the amulet around his neck. She smiled. "So, you're still wearing that?"

"Huh?" he looked up at her. "Oh, yeah. I always keep it on."

"You really have grown. I just can't believe you're the same loudmouthed brat I knew," she said, smirking as he shot a glare her way.

He really did look different. His blond hair wasn't as unruly as it had been several years ago. It had lengthened and was combed in a fashion that was well suited to his face. His bangs feel in thin strips around his eyes. His face and body were much more defined, too. He had lost his baby fat and it was replaced by muscle, but he kept his slim form. Strong yet agile. The only features that remained the same were his piercing blue eyes and trademark whiskers, but even they were slightly faded. There hadn't been a drastic change in height, though.

She grinned to herself. 'He really has grown to be quite handsome…'

She blinked. Yes, he had changed, but then there was something else about him that seemed different. 'Is it his aura?' she thought. It was faint, but there was definitely a change in his aura.

_It seemed almost… almost…_

The godaime's eyes widened. 'Evil?' she thought. She focused on trying to pinpoint the strange feeling that washed through her again, but now the only thing she could find was innocence. 'But, I could sworn that I…' Had she just imagined it?

He still carried that same innocence that he had as a young boy, but his smile had changed. It was sincere, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes.

Treating it as a figure of her imagination, she shoved it to the back of her mind. She looked to the boy again who seemed rather flustered. She hoped he hadn't noticed her behavior. From the foul words that escaped his lips, which were of course, directed at her, she safely guessed that he hadn't.

Tsunade tilted her head and eyed his clothing, ignoring several of the rude comments that were being dished at her.

Jiraiya just shook his head, slapping his forehead. "Some people just never change," he raised an eyebrow and held back a laugh. The rambunctious blond was actually like a younger version of himself. Though he never admitted it, of course.

She chuckled. "Would you like some new clothing?"

He looked down at his outfit. He wore a simple brown shirt and light brown pants, which were already rather dirty from his travels. "Ah, these… they were lent to me. Don't worry about it. I have clothing. I just used these so that those wouldn't get damaged along the way."

"In that case, here are your keys to your apartment," she tossed him the keys.

"Ah, it wasn't sold?!" he cheered. "That's great! What about my stuff?"

"Nothing was taken. I had a second pair made for Iruka so that he could check in every once in a while to clean it."

He blushed lightly at the favor. "You didn't have to make him do that."

"Actually, he was the one who offered to do it," she could see the affection his eyes held for the man.

He made a mental note to stop by and thank his old teacher. Tsunade gave Jiraiya a quick nod and he made his way to the door. Taking Jiraiya's leave as a sign that their conversation was over, he picked up his own bag as well. "Well, I guess I'll be leaving."

"Wait a second. I still need to talk to you about something."

"Huh?" he turned back to her. "What is it?"

"I have a favor to ask."

He raised an eyebrow. "A favor?" 

She nodded.

"I'm listening."

"I was hoping that you would accept my request," she began.

"Well, it depends on what it is old hag," he jeered.

"Shut up, brat. I'm getting to that," she spat. She snickered as he folded his arms and pouted. "Anyway, I wanted to know if you would be willing to train a team of genin."

"Eh?" an are-you-crazy expression settled on his face. "You want _me_ to train genins?" He hunched over. 'Had she gone crazy or something?'

"No, I'm not crazy," she stated, a trace of annoyance in her voice. "And will you just keep quiet and let me finish?"

He shuddered. 'Freaky old woman,' he didn't noticed that he had actually voiced out his comment until she had kindly given him the gift of the second bump on his head that day. "Ai! Okay, just tell me what I have to do already!"

She smiled. "There's really not much to it. You just have to spend time training and going about missions with this genin team. Well, that is, if you pass them."

The blond's mind went blank. Why was she suddenly asking him to do this? Why not someone else? "Again, why me? I'm not even a jounin."

"Since becoming Hokage, I've noticed that children seem to get along with you." This earned a grunt from the boy.

'Yeah, right,' he thought. 'Since when?'

She continued. "This team seems to be rather… How should I put it? They're troublesome," she said. He was beginning to feel rather uneasy about this. "Seeing as you were in a team with similar personalities, I thought it would be suitable for you to teach them. Is this all right with you?"

"Yeah, I guess…" he murmured. "How hard could it be, anyway? It could be pretty fun."

At least he was being compliant. "Since you seem happy about the idea, I'll tell you that several jounin teachers have tried failing them simply because they were being hard to deal with."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?" He thought about this for a second. "What if I refuse?"

"I'll knock you back down to the genin position."

He frowned. "Can you even do that?"

"I'm sure we'll know if you're willing to find out."

'Well, doesn't she look happy,' he thought.

"I'll pass. So, when do I start?"

"Tomorrow. I wanted to give you some time to settle in again. Why don't you take this time to go around and visit old friends? I'm sure they wouldn't mind hearing from you, seeing as you left without a word."

Naruto averted his gaze to the ground. The blond had felt guilty about that, but he wanted to get away from that place and he didn't bother to tell anyone at the time. He knew the simple question that everyone would have asked, "Why?" And to be honest… he didn't know at the time.

"I don't think so," he said quickly. "I'll save that for later." Much later. He didn't feel like rekindling old fires just yet. "So, when do I meet the team?"

"I have told your students to wait in their old classroom. You can find them there," she said. "I'm sure you won't need directions. Iruka was their teacher."

That caught his interest. 'So, Iruka-sensei was their teacher, eh?'

"Well, now that that's settled… I'd like you to be there around 7:30."

"Why so early?" Naruto whined. He had always been a late sleeper.

"Just don't argue. Be there at 7:30. That's that."

He shrugged, not bothering to push the matter any further. He turned and left.

Tsunade smiled. "He really has matured. It's odd, but he seems so laid back. Nothing like his old antiques." Even though it was a nice change, it was somewhat unnerving to see such a drastic change in his personality. At least he still carried the same determination and confidence.

* * *

He pushed open the door to his apartment and slowly shut the door behind him. He looked around his room. "Heh, he really did keep it clean."

There wasn't a speck of dirt to be seen on his floor or furniture. His bed was kept neat and nothing had been moved out of place. The blond pulled his drawers open to find all his clothes neatly folded. The man seriously was thorough with his work!

His lips curved into a soft smile. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei," he whispered. He flung his bag off of his shoulder and onto the couch. Naruto stretched his arms out, yawning. "Damn it all. This is just what I need right after coming back. Stupid, old hag…"

He was looking forward to his mission, or 'favor', as she had put it. 'Some favor,' he thought. 'That was more like an order!' Still, he didn't necessarily mind, but the fact that he had to get up so early was frustrating.

"Maybe I'll pull a 'Kakashi' this time around."

Switching on the light to his bathroom, he shut the door and peeled off his clothes. They were comfortable to wear, but he would have to change his attire from now on.

Since being assigned Tsunade's so-called favor, Naruto had been given a new position as a jounin. Normally, he would have been singing and dancing, but he hadn't earned it. 'Jiraiya had mentioned something about the jounin exam coming around. Maybe I could participate, anyway.'

He shoved aside the crème shower curtains and turned the water on. It had taken several seconds for the water to turn warm, but the blond welcomed every last drop of the cool water that washed away his aches.

'It's heaven in comparison to that heat!' he wrinkled his nose in distaste at the thought. Being forced to walk around for more than a day when he was practically being cooked alive isn't exactly what he would consider as fun.

He grabbed a little bar of soap, running it on his slightly tan skin. He looked down at his flawless body and frowned.

In payment for his training, his body had been bruised and wounded on several occasions. 'Yet…' he thought before stepping out of the shower, uncaring of the water that spilled onto the floor. Naruto reached down and pulled open a drawer where he had kept a small blade. He pressed it gently against his left palm before he pushed down and made a swift movement.

The blood rushed wildly to the open wound. A small pool of blood had already formed in the sink within seconds after inflicting the injury. He smirked as he felt the sharp pain coursing through his hand gradually began to subside.

'I can see it.'

Sure enough, a dull light could be seen forming on his skin as his wound closed itself up in an instant. All that was left was the blood. The blond ran a thumb over the obscure cut.

He rinsed the blade and dried it, setting it back in its original place.

'So, this is the power of the kyuubi. Since I'm going to be stuck with it, I might as well use it to my advantage.'

* * *

I wasn't sure whether or not I should stop it at this point. Actually, I was planning on adding one more scene to it, but I realized that it was getting pretty long. It was kind of fun to write and I guess I got carried away with all the description. I kind of have an idea of what I want to do, but then the rest is all blank! I guess I'll just have to figure it out along the way.

Sorry about the random Japanese words that are thrown in. I know some people might find it annoying. I kind of like sticking to one language, but for some reason, I find it really hard to imagine Naruto referring to Iruka as… well… Iruka, rather than Iruka-sensei.

So, what do you think? Is it worth continuing?


	4. Just Like Us

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

_Review Questions:_

ghostninja85: Oh yeah! Sorry! Well, when he left, two years had passed. So, at that time, he was around 14. You actually find out in this chapter, but I meant to write it in the last chapter. Instead, I accidentally ended with 'several years'. Still, it's been almost four years. So, everyone should be around 17-18.

xXFissshBonesssXx: Whoo hoo! Well, even if everyone leaves, at least I know there's someone who's going to stick around 'til the end. Hehe. I'm glad you like the story!

Exkariya: Yes, he was 14 when he left. Then, four years passed. You can do the math! Okay, find I'll do it for you. He'll be around 17-18 at this point in my story.

Kami Beverly: Seeing as you've just taken the time to try and accuse me of stealing someone else's work… I'll take the time to say that I didn't. I _hate_ plagiarism. There are many Naruto stories floating around that overlap each other. It's only been three chapters into my story and I'm trying to take a different turn in it. I'm not surprised that it seems similar to others. Too bad you don't like the story, but if you're going to accuse me of that, I'd appreciate it if you would tell me what story it is and point out what portion in mine resembles it. Since you didn't, I'll just ignore the comment for now. It's frustrating for me to work hard to think of a story and have my confidence and enjoyment in writing it shot down.

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 4: Just Like Us

* * *

Naruto tossed and turned in his sleep. He turned to gaze at the clock.

6:57 in the morning.

He groaned and turned to face the wall. "Too…early…"

_Be there at 7:30. That's that._

"Oh, yeah," he had almost forgotten. "Almost forgot about that."

Naruto sat in his bed, his chin resting thoughtfully in his right hand. He began conspiring the many excuses that he could use on his behalf for arriving late.

'Woke up late? No. Pretend that I forgot? Nah,' he frowned. 'This is harder than I thought. I wonder how Kakashi did it? Then again, his were all incredibly stupid and farfetched.'

He went through hundreds of ridiculous ideas before finally accepting the fact that he wasn't getting anywhere. The blond ended up deciding that he'd just get there on time. It's not like he had much else to do, in any case.

After a quick shower and once he had freshened up, he grabbed the jounin uniform that Tsunade had given him. He pulled the navy blue shirt over his head, rolling up the sleeves to his elbows. He wrapped a few bandages around his legs before slipping on the navy blue pants as well. Once he had that done, he took hold of the dark, green vest.

The colors were a strange contrast with his hair and eye color, but nevertheless, it looked good on him.

Naruto continued to hold his vest. It felt strange to have it. It had taken him years of hard work to earn the chuunin position and already he was a jounin right after he had returned. The feeling wasn't as satisfactory as it had been when he had received the chuunin vest. He slid on the vest, pulling on his pair of fingerless gloves as well. The blond looked around his room. 'Now where did I put it?'

He scanned the room, grinning as his eyes came to a stop. "There," he whispered. He grabbed the small bag and pulled out a black coat and the Leaf head protector. He pulled the coat on, adjusting the collar. It fell slightly below his knees.

Naruto stared at the head protector in his hand. He slowly traced the Leaf symbol with his finger. "It's been a while since I've brought this out," he whispered.

Instead of tying it around his forehead, he settled for having it on his left arm. It was rather difficult, but he managed to firmly tie it around his bicep. "Well, I guess I should be leaving now."

He let out a deep sigh as he opened up his window.

"I'm home."

* * *

A young, blue haired girl who looked around the age of twelve drummed her fingers impatiently on her desk. 'Where the hell is he?!' she screamed in her mind. They're new teacher was already almost a half an hour late.

"What was the point of coming here this early if the damned teacher wasn't going to show up at the assigned time," spat a boy leaning against the blackboard. He folded his tiny arms across his chest and huffed.

"Just shut up and wait," came a voice from the obscure part of the room. Another boy stepped out of the shadowy corner of the room. He ran his hands through his black strands of hair.

"What was that?!" when the other boy didn't reply, he just frowned and crouched on the ground, tracing circles on the floorboard. "Whatever. If this guy doesn't show up soon, I'm leaving. He deserves it." Just then, the boy's face lit up. The girl noticed this and in an instant, knew exactly what was running through the boy's mind.

"Reiji! Whatever you're thinking, drop it! Pranks every now and then are fun, but we don't even know who this guy is. Messing with a jounin isn't always smart."

"I know, but it could be fun!" She glared at him.

"Reiji!! Don't!" she looked desperately at her other companion. "Daisuke, please do something!"

"Feh. That idiot's not going to listen. Just let him do whatever he wants, Sachiko," he said calmly. "Besides, I highly doubt a jounin is going to fall for a trick like that. It's pathetic."

The girl nodded. "Of course, Daisuke! I always knew you were the smartest," she said as she went starry-eyed.

"Fine, fine! I won't do anything!" he huffed. 'Everyone's always trying to ruin my fun.' He smoothed out the tiny creases in his red shirt.

The all quieted down when they heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Sorry! I'm a bit late!" Naruto said, stepping into the room. He looked at Sachiko, Daisuke, and then at Reiji. "I got a little sidetracked," he said, laughing nervously. "Ichiraku's ramen was calling to me."

'I wonder what's so bad about them. They look like good kids,' he thought, folding his arms. 'Better not be too trusting, though.'

Daisuke carefully studied him. 'He looks pretty tough, but that grin on his face tells me otherwise. And he is still pretty young, too. But then I've heard of that Kakashi guy who became a jounin at around our age if not younger.'

Reiji scratched the back of his head and looked up at Naruto. "He looks kind of stupid. I bet the outfit's just to make him seem cool."

"Like you're one to talk, moron."

"Shut up, Daisuke!"

A small girl shoved her way into the conversation. "Reiji, don't talk to Daisuke like that!"

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naruto's head. 'They're kind of like… how we used to be.' He smirked. 'This could get interesting.'

"Stop arguing. Now, what are your names? And why don't you tell me a bit about yourself as well. Likes, dislikes, dreams…" They stopped and turned to him.

Reiji spoke first. "Um, I like… er… training! And I dislike," he pointed a finger at the darker haired boy. "HIM! And my dream is to become stronger! I want to prove to people that I can be something more than just the troublemaker everyone says I am!"

Naruto gave him an understanding smile. 'So, this is what the hag was talking about.'

He gave Sachiko a nod before she took her turn. "I like to draw, paint… anything artsy. I dislike having to deal with rather loud people," she glared at Reiji, but he only smiled back. I don't think he got that she wasn't looking at him fondly. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "And my dream, well, I guess I just want to have a nice life. Family, friends, nice home."

"And you, the one in the back."

Daisuke didn't look up at him. "Feh. There aren't many things I like, but plenty that I dislike. As for my dream," he narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "It's none of your concern."

Naruto frowned. "You remind me of someone," he said slowly. The young boy looked up at him, seeming somewhat intrigued to know who this person was, but quickly lost interest. "Well, let's get started. I have better things to be doing than dealing with you three, so I'd like to get this done quickly."

The jounin rested his hands in the pockets of his dark coat, turning his back on his new students as rather crude remarks spewed from Sachiko and Reiji's mouths.

'This is going to be _very _interesting.'

* * *

"So, what are we gonna do first? A mission? Learn some cool skill?" asked Reiji. Naruto looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He could see the sparkle in his eyes. Naruto continued walking and brought the group to a halt. He looked around at the large clearing in the forest. He smirked and turned to the group.

"No missions I'm afraid and you're not going to learn anything from me either. You haven't proved your worth yet, and until then, I'm afraid I'm not going to bother with you," he made sure to revel in the look of pure shock etched onto their faces. Even the seemingly stoic boy showed response. "As of now, you all are pathetic excuses for ninjas in my eyes."

Reiji clenched his fists until his knuckles turned pale. In an act of anger, he swung his leg out to kick the jounin. Naruto simply caught hold of the boy's leg and lifted him into the air, grabbing his other leg as he tried to land a blow to his face. The boy ended up hanging in the air, squirming to get free.

"Like I said, you're all pathetic excuses for ninjas. Coming at me with basic moves like _this_," he nodded his head at the small boy struggling to get free from his grasp. " Are only going to get you _killed_," he hissed the last word to prove his point. Reiji swallowed hard and stopped squirming.

Sachiko stepped back in fear, but Daisuke didn't seem wavered by the jounin's words.

He dropped Reiji who fell into a crumpled pile on the floor and walked into the clearing. "Now, why don't we begin? You may think you're ninjas with that fancy headband of yours, but as far as I'm concerned, you're not. If you want to consider this a training session, then go ahead, but it's much more than that. Unless I see you fit to hold the title of ninja, you will all be sent back to the academy!"

Sachiko's jaw dropped. "What?!" she screamed.

'More surprises?' she thought. 'Then what was the point of graduating from the academy?' she bit her lip.

"Just tell us what we have to do already," scoffed Daisuke. He wasn't about to fail, especially not by this guy. He hadn't cared about what the other jounin's thought, but he was going to prove something to this one.

Naruto held a hand up to his chin. "Hm, good question." All three fell to the ground. "Ah! I have just the thing!" he pulled out two bells.

'Hehe, unoriginal … but I don't really have any other ideas at the moment,' he thought. 'Maybe I should have spent a little more time thinking about what I was going to do for this. Ah well, it couldn't hurt.'

He cleared his throat. "All you have to do is try and get these from me," he said, holding up a pair of bells. "Now, before you start, think about how you're going to get them. Develop some sort of strategy. If you plan on running at me like a fool, you might as well quit right now. You can use your friend's earlier actions as an example." Reiji scowled, biting back a retort.

With that, he left the three to think on their own, searching for a place to sit quietly and think to himself. "Oh yeah," he stopped. "One more thing. The student who doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the academy. If you all fail to get a bell, then you will meet the same fate together."

Reiji's anger raised a notch. He turned to his teammates to see that they both shared the same anger. "But he only has two bells!"

Daisuke nodded. "That means that one of us will fail for sure."

"Hmph. Well, it's not going to be me!" he stomped off. "I'm going to go get that bell!"

"Wait, you idiot! Didn't you listen to a thing he said? We can't just try and fight him for the bell. Even if he does appear to be dumb, he's obviously a good enough fighter to be worthy of the jounin title."

"Yeah, but I don't see you thinking of anything!"

"We've got to work together on this one," he went on.

Sachiko decided it was time for her to step into the conversation. "I agree with you, but what's the point if one of us is going to be sent back? There's no avoiding it."

"Yeah, yeah!"

The dark-haired boy thought about this for a moment. "We've got to try and trap him. And as for whoever gets the bells, that depends on who's quick enough."

None of them liked the idea, but it was all they got.

* * *

Naruto smiled at their attempts to get him into a corner. They had come pretty close, he had to admit, but they weren't good enough. 'I guess I'll have to pass them,' he thought.

Still, watching them run around chasing his double was just too fun. He had used the Kage Bunshin. Even though it was slightly stressing on his chakra, having only one clone that didn't have to do anything drastic made it a lot easier to keep going for a long period of time without draining too much chakra. I don't think they even realized the fact that he had been hiding from them in a tree the entire time, watching them… much to his amusement.

He smiled. "They make a good team," he whispered.

Sachiko was good with the traps and figuring out the opponent's next moves while Daisuke was quick and a good fighter and was equally good with reading moves. Not to mention his battle tactics were impressive. Reiji, on the other hand, was similar to him when he was younger. His stamina and chakra amount were wonderful. While the others did the planning, he distracted the opponent and did some of the heavy work.

He realized that they were beginning to get rather tired and felt a small amount of sympathy for them. "I think I'll end this about now."

The three gasped as his double vanished in a puff of smoke and the black clad boy walked towards them, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"What the…? Don't tell me we were fighting a clone the entire time!!" Sachiko slapped her hands to her cheeks in disbelief.

Daisuke shook his head. "It can't be. When Reiji managed to hit him, he didn't vanish. It was a real body. He must know some sort of jutsu that allows him to create clones with real bodies."

Naruto smirked. "Correct! You were fighting a double the entire time while I simply sat by and watched you. I didn't bother to hide myself well, but I knew that you wouldn't acknowledge my presence with how preoccupied you were with my clone."

Reiji frowned. 'We were fooled so easily. This guy is…'

"You all look tired. Why don't we call it a day?" he walked away, his coat flowing behind him. "Oh, and by the way… you all pass."

"EH?!" They stood there, blinking several times before the words sunk in. After exchanging a few confused glances, they ran after their new sensei.

* * *

Naruto yawned as he walked through the crowd. Instead of the usual glares he used to get, he was greeted by suspicious glances. He shrugged them off. Naruto took a seat at his favorite place to eat. "Oy, can I get something to eat?"

An old man walked up to the front, wiping his hands with a towel. "Ah, back for seconds, Naruto?"

Naruto laughed briefly. "Yeah. Just got done training a genin team. I started getting hungry, so what better place to come, eh?" he lightly brushed away the blond strands from his eyes.

The old man smiled. "Well, what'll you have?"

"Just the usual," he smiled, his eyes curving. He leaned on the counter with his elbows, interlacing his fingers, a similar fashion to his rival. 'I wonder how everyone's doing? I guess I should do what the old hag had suggested and let everyone know I'm around, but…'

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" he was shaken out of his thoughts.

"Is that you Naruto?!"

He smiled. The blond didn't have to see his visitor to know who it was. "Hey, Sakura." Her hair had grown long again. He took note of the chuunin vest that she wore over her clothing. It looked the same except that, instead of red, it was a sweet green that was gentle on the eyes.

"After all these years, that's all you say?" she took a seat beside her old friend. "So, how are you? You know, everyone's been worried about you."

He winced. That wasn't exactly part of his plan, but it couldn't have been helped. Well, actually that wasn't the case, but that was in the past. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Hehe. I guess that would have been a bit of a surprise, eh?"

She grinned. 'He really has changed a lot. His hair, his clothing and the way he carries himself. He really is quite… handsome.' She turned away as a light blush crept to her cheeks after realizing that she had been staring. He smirked.

Feeling confident that he wasn't focusing his attention on her at the moment, she spared him another quick glance. 'It's not just his physical appearance that's changed,' she thought. 'He seems to have matured a lot. He isn't the bumbling, energetic blond that he had been.'

Strangely, she felt a bit sad. Things in the village had grown rather dull after he left. She thought that being rid of his constant chattering for a while would have been relieving, but she found that she had missed him after a while. His presence was strong and he didn't care to hide himself. It was comforting to have him around.

The man came back with a bowl of miso ramen. "Here you go!"

'I guess _some_ things never change,' she thought. It was a nice thought. 'At least there's something that's stayed the same.'

"Would you like somethin', too?" she shook her head and smiled. He busied himself with something and left the two alone.

"How are things with you and the others?" he finally voiced the question that had been bothering him the past few days. The only other question was, 'Did they miss me?'

"Normal, I guess. Ever since becoming a chuunin I haven't had as much time to do the usual things like shopping and all that. It's the same with the others. We try to spend time with each other aside from mission related situations. It's been fun!" she exclaimed.

"That's good to hear." He had forgotten about his hunger and picked at the noodles with his food. He was happy, but he couldn't ignore the knot forming in his stomach.

'So, they didn't miss him…'

"But," she paused. "It wasn't the same without you," she said, her voice lowering with the last few words.

His eyes widened. "What?"

"We missed you. Even Sasuke had trouble dealing with your loss. In fact, he seemed to be affected the most by your disappearance."

Naruto frowned. 'Sasuke? Miss him? Is she lying to me?'

"We were all affected. I used to always say that you were annoying or loud, but…" She waited until she was sure that she had his full attention. "After you left, I realized that it was fun having you around. Your loud personality brightened up everything." She stopped and could clearly see the bewildered expression on the boy's face. "I can bet that everyone else would feel the same way, too."

A pang of guilt surged through him. "I… I didn't realize that I had made such an impact."

"Well, you did!" she gave his back a friendly pat, brightening the mood. "And to make up for it, you can come to my house two days from now!"

"Eh? Err, I'm not so sure about that," he said.

Her face fell. "Oh, come on! You've been gone for three years, nearly four, and you honestly don't want to see everyone?"

"No, that isn't it," he protested. "It's just that I've been asked to train three genin. I'm not sure if I'll have time."

"You're teaching genin? But I thought only jou-" she froze. She eyed the vest beneath his coat. "You're a jounin? But I thought the tests are starting two weeks from now!"

"Tsunade's idea," he said quickly. "They're starting in two weeks? I was thinking about participating anyway. It'll be fun! Plus, I didn't really do anything to get this," he said as he slid his thumbs into the armholes of the vest and pulled it forward.

She sighed. "Well, I'm happy for you, but as for visiting my house… at least try. If you can't, that's okay. I'll just let everyone know about it."

"Uh, actually, can you not do that?"

"Why?"

"I'd rather them know when I'm ready. If what you said was true, they might come all at once and bombard me with their questions."

She nodded in understanding. "In that case, I'll keep this to myself." Sakura stood up to leave, but not before pressing a light kiss on Naruto's cheek.

He flinched at the sudden act, but he didn't feel anything from it. The blond had lost his silly feelings for her a long time ago. She was more like a sister to him at that point. Sakura waved and ran off.

He sighed and went back to playing with his food. "I wonder how everyone is?"

* * *

Naruto wandered off during the evening. After being away for so long, his small apartment didn't seem too inviting. So, he settled for walking around a bit, smiling at the memories that came back from seeing small things here and there. He hadn't realized how much he really missed the place until now.

He neared the area that Team 7 had passed that same test that he had put his students through just that afternoon. He chuckled as he remembered the ridiculous attempts he had made to snatch a bell from Kakashi.

Those times had been the best of his life. He missed the ritual of failed attempts at asking Sakura out on a date every morning. He missed Kakashi in all his damned, late glory, and yes… even Sasuke's never-ending insults. But of course… Naruto wouldn't admit that.

He closed his eyes and smiled in reminiscence. The air was chilled and a gentle breeze kissed his cheeks, turning them a warm, rosy shade. Blue eyes drank in the beauty of the sparkling water.

_…We missed you. Even Sasuke had trouble dealing with your loss. In fact, he seemed to be affected the most by your disappearance…_

He smiled to himself. The warm feeling that wrapped around his body from hearing those words had felt consoling. 'They missed me,' he thought. 'But Sasuke…?' He shook his head. 'She was probably saying that to make me feel better.' Even after their fight, they still bickered constantly. Ever since they returned from their mission, they had avoided each other like the plague.

A feeling of being watched swept over him. Naruto's body visibly stiffened as his trained ears picked up a faint rustle of leaves in the midst of the wind. He allowed his hand to hover over his holster as a warning to whoever was watching. He could feel the powerful yet familiar presence. The blond tried to pin it down, but his mind was in a haze and he threw down any further attempts.

When he sensed that he wasn't in any sort of danger, he let his body's stance soften. He secured the gloves on his hands before shoving them into his coat pockets.

"Show yourself," he said coolly. "I already know you're here and you're aware of that. Come out already."

He could hear the rustling of leaves and faint footsteps nearing him until they ended abruptly. He spun around to meet obsidian eyes. His own sky-blue eyes widened in surprise. "Sa… Sasuke?" He hadn't been given the chance to utter another word as he was pinned to the ground. Strong arms grasped his wrists, pushing them above his head as two legs were pressed against his thighs. He couldn't move.

"Where have you been?" he spoke, trying to hide the anger in his voice. It would have seemed like the ordinary iced tone, but Naruto's ears could pick out the irritation and - pain? - in his voice.

Naruto didn't bother to escape free from his binding. "Around."

"Convenient answer, but how about trying to be a little less vague?" Sasuke scowled. He wasn't about to let his 'captive' free until he had gotten a reasonable answer.

"Like I said, around. I've been traveling here and there with Jiraiya. Visited a few villages." He stopped when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and Inari says 'hi'."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You went back there?"

"Actually, we stayed with them for a while."

Sasuke didn't reply, as if pondering the answer. A simple 'oh' was all he could muster.

Several minutes passed by and the two only stared at each other. Naruto's face flushed as he finally took note of the awkward position they were in. He could feel Sasuke's warm breath washing over his neck, sending chills up his spine. "Are we going to stay like this all night or are you going to let me go?" he teased. The confidence that hung with his words surprised even him. It did nothing to reveal the fluttering sensation in his abdomen.

Sasuke seemed to contemplate this. This made Naruto blush even more. It was like he couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to get up. It didn't take much longer for Sasuke to snap out of it and stand up abruptly, releasing his strong hold on the boy. The taller boy turned his attention away from Naruto as the blond brushed off dirt from his clothing.

He glanced up at the sky and admired the stars. The usually stoic boy may not have appeared to be the type, but he really did enjoy nature. The blond took this time to briefly glance at his friend, taking in all of the changes. Nothing had really changed. He still wore the same pair of clothes - the bright blue shirt with the Uchiha clan's mark adorned on the back. Only now, it wasn't visible because he had a white coat on to provide him warmth from the weather's chilly, moist air.

The blond's lips slowly parted as he looked on as the fluttering sensation returned. The raven-haired boy's milky white skin and dark eyes were a perfect contrast. The moonlight danced on his pale skin, giving it an ethereal glow. The soft angles of his face gave him a touch of femininity, adding to his appeal. Mysterious and graceful.

It never really occurred to him that Sasuke really was…

"Beautiful," he whispered.

A smile graced Sasuke's lips. "It is isn't it?" Naruto's blush deepened and he stared at his feet, his blond strands of hair covering his eyes. It never occurred to the dark-haired boy that Naruto hadn't been referring to the same thing.

Noticing his friend's discomfort, Sasuke moved slowly towards Naruto. Startled by his sudden advancements, the blond took a few steps back, but that didn't stop the other boy from reaching his target. The darker haired boy gently brushed aside his golden strands, gazing into his cerulean eyes. He leaned into his ear, his lips lightly brushing against it. "Naruto, tell me one thing…" he began, his voice barely above a whisper.

Naruto stiffened and ignored the heated skin that tingled in reaction to the other boy's warmth. He didn't attempt to sit down and think about Sasuke's strange behavior. It would only hurt his brain.

"Why did I leave?" Sasuke stepped back and look at him with slight surprise. Naruto chuckled. "I'll tell you some other time. In the mean time, I have to worry about getting some rest before tomorrow."

Sasuke frowned. "What, a mission already?"

"Hehe. I guess you could call it that," he said, rubbing the back of his head, smiling lightly. Naruto wouldn't admit it, but he actually thoroughly enjoyed the company of his three students. He continued when he saw his former teammates obvious confusion. "I was assigned a genin team. From now on, I'm their sensei. I get to torture them!" he cackled.

He stopped when he realized that the idea of mortifying his students didn't seem quite as amusing to the other boy.

"I see. So, you're a jounin now," Sasuke said. Silence passed between them.

The blond turned around, his back facing the raven-haired boy, leaving the other boy to himself. It might have seemed rude, but he knew there was nothing left to say.

After confirming that his rival had left, he smacked his forehead. "What was I thinking? Getting that close…" He groaned and shook his head.

He held out his palms, his gaze fixed on them. "Jounin, huh? What else has changed, Naruto?"

* * *

For some reason this chapter seemed really long and out of place. I don't like any of these chapters!! Well, the first part was kind of fun to write, though. Anyway, sorry for the lack in the S/N department, but I'll get to that! This one just seemed to drawl on and on. Nyah…

Well, did you like it? Let me know what you think!


	5. Old Fires Rekindled

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

_Review Questions:_

ghostninja85: I'm glad you like this story! It's good to know that someone who can give really good feedback has confidence in it.

swtjemz: Of course! What would a Naruto fic be without the others? I know it's kind of focused solely around a few people so far, but I'll slowly introduce all the other characters. I'm trying to get in some of the core characters (even though I think they all are) and then you'll start to see all of them. Glad you like this story!

Half-Devil: Well, now that I know you enjoy it, I won't quit! Hehe. Thanks!

Hikaru Tsukiyono: I'm glad you like my story! Yes, it is annoying. It makes me feel bad when someone dislikes the story, but it would have been nice if she had at least made a point to tell me the story's name. Oh well…

Kami Beverly: No, no. You don't have to retreat away. Sorry if I seemed rude, I just got the impression that you were accusing me of plagiarism. It's true that a lot of people have the same beginning, and I can understand if my story seems similar, but thanks for telling me anyway. I appreciate it. And I wasn't going to bite your head off or anything.

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 5: Old Fires Rekindled

* * *

Iruka busied himself around the house, picking up clothes hear and there and just simply taking his mind off of his relatively bored state. It didn't take long before his mind wandered off to his students.

He was proud to hear that most, if not all, of his students had managed to become genin. Even though all of his students were dear to him, he took a strong liking to three specific students. Yes, none other than Sachiko, Daisuke, and Reiji who are now apart of Team 3.

He smiled. Reiji, he was especially attached to. The rambunctious boy reminded him so much of a certain blond student. Iruka's smile faded.

Ever since the boy's disappearance, he had lost the will to smile. It was like losing the son that he never had. People would constantly worry over him, so he would put on a forced smile. Those who knew him saw that it never reached his eyes. Kakashi especially. The jounin had even been kind enough to try and drop by every once in a while to check up on him.

The depression slowly began to eat away at him, but the chuunin slowly found his wounds healing as time passed him by. It had been almost four years since he had left the village of Konoha and Iruka had gradually come to accept the fact that Naruto was gone. The chances of him coming back were slim. It had almost come to the point where he would be marked as a missing-nin had it not been for Tsunade slipping in a few words.

Iruka let out a deep sigh. 'Things just aren't the same without you around, Naruto.' The chuunin jumped slightly as knocks sounded at the entrance to his house.

Adjusting his chuunin vest, he made his way to the door. Grabbing the doorknob, he opened the door and his eyes met with his visitor. Iruka widened his eyes in astonishment. 'It…can it be?'

"Naruto?" He gaped at the black clad figure standing in his doorway, smiling gently at him.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei."

* * *

From the moment that Naruto had stepped in the house, he could feel the warmth and comfort wash over his body. There was just something so gentle and welcoming about the man's presence that he couldn't help but love him. He was like a father to the blond boy.

Naruto was left alone in the living room while Iruka rushed off to prepare some tea for his guest. He smiled at his old teacher's eagerness to hear about his stories. At the same time, his heart tightened at the thought. 'I only paid attention to myself. I allowed my selfishness to get the best of me,' Naruto's happiness of seeing his teacher slowly began to dissipate.

Shaking his thoughts away, not wanting to dwell in the past, the blond looked around the room, his cerulean eyes absorbing in every little detail of the house. The floors were made of finely built wood, shined to the point that he could swear his reflection was visible. Warm shades of crèmes and whites adorned his furniture and curtains. Even though the man lived alone, he liked his house to appear 'livable'.

Despite the fact that Naruto had been here several times in the past, it seemed as though he was here for the first time. Nothing had really changed.

Naruto blinked when a small frame caught his attention. It was settled at the edge of the table that Iruka often worked at. The blond tilted his head to one side as he curiously stared at the picture. Iruka stood in the center, leaning forward with both his hands placed on a small boy that was standing in front of him.

Naruto's gaze softened as he picked up the picture. He traced the face of his teacher before coming to a stop at the boy. An open and honest grin was plastered to his face. 'So, I was like that once, eh?' He placed the picture on the table as Iruka had left it when he took notice of something else.

There was another picture beside the other, but instead of Naruto in it, there was a familiar silver-haired man standing beside Iruka. His eye was curved, in what would appear to be, him smiling. Iruka, though, seemed a little less comfortable, seeing as a deep crimson shade was spread across his cheeks. Naruto cocked his eyebrow in amusement. "Iruka and Kakashi-sensei?" he bit back the urge to laugh.

'Never saw that one coming,' he thought.

_That's because you were never around long enough to see anything… you ran away._

Naruto shut his eyelids, fighting away the voice in his head. It was like he had a second mind. One that was always there, constantly tearing at his soul.

"Naruto? I've made the tea," Iruka said, joy dripping with every word that escaped his lips. Naruto quickly set the frame back down and turned to his teacher.

"Great!" he politely waited for his teacher to take a seat in the chair across from him before he seated himself as well. Iruka handed Naruto the warm cup before taking up his own and slowly sipping it.

Naruto stifled a whimper as the scalding liquid burned the tip of his tongue. After realizing that taking another sip would probably kill him, he set down the cup.

"Naruto, I wanted to ask you…" the chuunin began.

"Where was I all these years and why did I leave in the first place?"

Iruka's jaw dropped, but he quickly shut it so that he wouldn't seem rude. It was just the fact that the boy seemed so relaxed at the question. He gave a slow nod, signaling for Naruto to go on.

The blond chuckled lightly. "Sasuke asked the same thing."

This caught the man's attention. "You saw Sasuke already?" Iruka raised his eyebrow. He knew very well about the relationship between the two boys. Rivals yet close friends.

'The Uchiha boy had seemed to be the most affected by his disappearance.'

Naruto immediately regretted saying the words as a light blush graced his soft skin, remembering the closeness of the other boy the night before. Iruka observed the boy's face, making Naruto even more nervous than he already was. "Anyway," he went on. "I just needed a little time away from the place, that's all."

Iruka felt a small tug at his heart. 'I understand that you were in pain, but what about us? What about the people who did care about you?' Still, he could tell from the look in the boy's eyes that he did feel at least a small amount of guilt for leaving. He was aware of what he did.

Naruto shifted in his seat, brushing back the golden strands that hung loosely around his face. "I stayed in the Water Country for a while. Originally, I had planned on going alone, but then I found out that the old ha-" he stopped as he thought it best to use that name only in front of Tsunade herself. "Err… I mean Tsunade-sama… had sent Jiraiya to keep an eye on me. He traveled with me during my absence, training me. He was teaching me something _special_."

The brown-haired man's eyes lifted from his tea to stare at the boy. "Special?" he repeated.

Naruto smirked and stood up from his seat. "Well, I should be going."

Iruka frowned at the abrupt manner of his favorite student. Well, former student. "Naruto?" he watched his student walk towards the door. "Wait!"

Naruto stopped and turned to look at his teacher. "Don't worry about it. In any case, the jounin exams are coming up right?"

Another frown took shape on Iruka's face. "Oh yeah… guess I let that slip my mind." He smiled and beamed at Naruto. "I'm guessing you want to take part?"

"Actually, I'm already a jounin," he said. He noticed his teacher flinch slightly at the statement. "Still, I would like to participate. Everyone else will be there right? It'll be a good chance to test out my abilities. I can bet everyone's a lot stronger." The excitement in his eyes was impossible to miss. That hadn't changed about him.

"Really?" Iruka had always believed his student to have great potential, but the news was still a bit of a surprise. It seemed as though just yesterday he was the same brat that ran around vandalizing the Hokage monuments.

'You really have grown, haven't you, Naruto?'

"Have you seen any of the others yet?"

"No, I haven't. Well, except for you and Sasuke, of course. Oh yeah, I bumped into Sakura as well."

Iruka smiled. It was only fitting that he'd see those two first. "I do hope you make an effort to see the others as well. When you're ready of course," he said, quickly throwing in the last few words. It wouldn't come as a surprise if the boy felt some form of anxiety at meeting them again after so many years of being away.

He walked past Naruto and opened the door to let the boy out. "Thanks. Well, I'll be seeing you, Iruka-sensei," he said, smiling warmly. "Oh! And I appreciate your help in keeping my apartment clean. Hehe. There wasn't even a spec of dirt." And with that, he left.

Iruka looked on as the figure of the boy he had grown to love as a son over the years slowly faded. He sighed and shut the door, leaning against it. 'You're keeping a mask on,' he though, a sorrowful glint reaching his eyes. 'What has made you change this way?'

* * *

Almost two weeks had passed since Naruto had returned to Konoha. The blonde-haired woman wasn't sure how he did it, but it was obvious that the boy had gone about the village unnoticed. Had it been otherwise, the entire town would have been bustling with noise as the news was passed from one person to another. She bit her lower lip at the thought. Who knows how the villagers might react.

Even those who had fought alongside Naruto had gone by without knowing of their friend's arrival.

"Jiraiya, he hasn't locked himself up in his apartment has he?" Tsunade looked at him questioningly. A white-haired man was seated across from her desk in her office.

He shook his head. "I doubt that's the case. He never was one to hide himself from everyone. Still, if you were expecting a flashy entrance or numerous pranks… don't. That part's changed. Recently, he's been taking a liking to moving about on his own," he said, taking note of Tsunade's uncertainty. It was obvious she was puzzled as to whether or not she should be happy with the change.

She was more than happy to hear that he wasn't allowing the hateful glares of the villagers to hurt him, but the emptiness she caught in his bright eyes every once in a while fought against that. In a way, it was similar to the Uchiha, though not nearly as bad. That one just seemed to have a look-at-me-and-ill-rip-your-lungs-out type of attitude. The boy was about as social as a rock. In fact, she had once believe that maybe she could get a better response out of a rock than him. Right now, one of Naruto's old pranks would have been rather enjoyable.

"At least he's up an about," she whispered. "Still, there's something about him that isn't right, Jiraiya. His gaze seems so… far away. Even though it may only seem as though his appearance has changed, he himself has as well."

Jiraiya sighed and reached over the desk to grasp her hand lightly. "I know you're worried, but the brat's a strong kid. He'll be fine."

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "Yeah, you're right."

The two sat in silence before Jiraiya, rather reluctantly, released her hand. He leaned against his chair in a lazy fashion, his legs stretched out and his arms folded across his abdomen. "The jounin exam is starting tomorrow?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Tsunade nodded and stood from her seat as Jiraiya mimicked her movements. "Yes, it is. Will you be attending it as well?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Nah, I got other things to do. Is Naruto going to be participating?"

"Well, I've given him the rank of jounin already. He's currently training a team of genin, but knowing Naruto…"

"He'll want to compete anyway," Jiraiya finished.

A smirk played across her lips. She pushed her light blonde hair behind her ears before placing her hands on her hips. "I'm curious to see how his training has paid off."

Jiraiya laughed, earning a quizzical look from his old friend. "Actually, about that." She looked at him intently, gesturing for him to go on. "I didn't really teach him much. Just how to control his second chakra and use it to his benefit."

"Second chakra? You don't mean…"

Jiraiya grinned. "Yep, just wait 'til you see the kid! He's grown a lot since you've last seen him. He's not the little brat we once knew. Though he hasn't lost some of his more annoying traits like the witty comments, the random outbursts, the annoying nicknames…" Tsunade let out a light-hearted laugh. "And the list goes on."

Tsunade took comfort in the fact that he was trying to chain down her worries, but she wasn't so sure if she was happy about him being able to wield his 'second chakra'.

* * *

Naruto stood in the center of a small clearing in a forest close to the edge of the village's gates. The jounin exam was starting tomorrow and he wanted to be ready. Even if he had confidence in his newfound abilities, he actually enjoyed it. Training was always a form of relief for him. A way to vent. Apparently, it was the same way for someone else as well.

"Oi, Naruto!"

The blond boy's body stiffened as an instinctive reaction to the voice, but he didn't show it. "What do you want, Sasuke?" His words flowed smoothly and calmly without any hint of hostility.

"You training?"

Naruto continued to gaze at the boy, searching through those dark depths. What was he searching for anyway? He blinked. "Yeah."

Sasuke pushed aside the awkward silence that had passed between the two. "How about sparring with me then?"

The blond shrugged his shoulders in reply, tossing aside his black coat to reveal his full jounin uniform. He brought out the two fingerless gloves from his pockets, slipping them on. "Why not?"

The taller boy smirked before positioning himself into a fighting stance; his right hand hovering over his holster while his left was in front. The other boy did the same.

After the first step was taken, the two lunged at each other. Blades clashed and wounds were inflicted as old rivals came together in battle.

Sasuke had made the first attempt to attack his opponent, swinging his leg out in an attempt to connect it with the other's stomach, knowing full well that it would be blocked. As expected, Naruto grabbed his leg, aiming a punch for his face as Sasuke fell back, his hands on the ground as he kicked loose from Naruto's grip.

In speed unlike his old antics, Naruto reappeared behind Sasuke. Drawing back his arm, clenching his fists, he brought it down in a powerful blow, only to find that his fist had connected with the cool ground and not his opponent. Dirt flew into the air as the ground broke apart beneath his palm. The raven-haired boy had barely missed it, nearing a tree as he watched Naruto.

Naruto hadn't moved from his position on the ground. Right hand buried into the dirt, crouched on one knee, as his other was up to balance him. Sasuke could only look on in surprise at this new speed. 'Since when was Naruto this fast? I can barely keep up with his moves…'

Naruto stood up, smirking at his friend. "Is that it?" The blond knew that, even with his training, his speed was equally matched with Sasuke's. If anything, he was currently only slightly faster. They had agreed not to use ninjutsu and relied solely on their ordinary abilities. Still, Naruto knew that his rival could do more. He wanted to see _it_. And he knew just how to push Sasuke's buttons. "It seems that these years have taken a toll on you. Are you really this pathetic?"

Sasuke clenched his fists, his face paling in anger, but the anger slowly subsided. This had been normal between them. There had been no spite in Naruto's words. "Heh, I see," he grinned, closing his eyes. "If that's what you want… _then here I come_!" His eyes shot open and Naruto smiled triumphantly as a deep red drowned out black.

"Now, I can finally have some fun!" Naruto exclaimed before the two clashed once again.

The two continued on for several minutes. With the Sharingan, Naruto wasn't able to do as much. He managed to land a few hits every once in a while, but it was obvious that Sasuke was at a slight advantage.

After their battle ended, Naruto plopped himself on the ground, leaning his back against the tree. He took shelter under its leaves as rain poured down on them. He had wanted to continue fighting, but the rain made it rather irritating.

The dark-haired boy took a seat by him. "I win. Again," he said, smirking. "I guess _you're_ pretty pathetic. A jounin unable to defeat a chuunin?"

Naruto only grinned. "Whatever. I'll get you next time."

"Yeah right," he gave Naruto's arm a light tap with the back of his hand. "You have gotten strong, though, Naruto."

"Yeah… that'd suck if I wasn't after almost four damned years of training," he laughed. The emptiness in his voice made Sasuke flinch.

Naruto grimaced as his clothes began to soak. He had originally wanted to wear his coat to protect him from the cold droplets, but it had been drenched far before he could save it.

The blond visibly shivered. Sasuke frowned and stood up, holding out a hand to Naruto. The other boy looked at it questioningly. "Come on, it's cold out. We can go back to my place."

Naruto wrinkled his nose, showing his obvious disliking for the idea. Even if they were friends, the two still weren't always on the friendliest of terms. 'Since when does he invite people to his house? I always thought he was the type who shuts everyone out and would probably cut their feet off before they entered his house,' he thought a moment about this. 'Wait, he _is_ that type.'

Sasuke shook his head. "Do you honestly want to stay out here? Your apartment is further off. It would be easier if we were to return to my home. You can get cleaned up, and once the rain stops you'll be able to leave."

The blond thought about this and wanted to protest, but he dropped the idea as he realized that was probably the best option. Shrugging his shoulders and slipping on his black coat despite the cold, he grasped his friend's hand, allowing him to pull him up before following him to his home.

* * *

Naruto poked around the house. He had never been to his friend's house and had never actually thought he would. He automatically began comparing it to Iruka's house. The Uchiha manor was definitely much larger in comparison to Iruka's home, but it was so barren.

There was nothing at all, nothing to accent the house's appeal. It was the complete opposite of Iruka's home that was nicely furnished. 'No decorations, colors… nothing. Where are all the pictures of his family members and stuff?' he thought to himself. 'I know he's alone, but…' The only things that he had managed to find were a few furniture items, but that was like a necessity. 'That's typical of him. Only getting the necessary stuff. How dull...'

"What are you doing, idiot?"

The insult won his attention, but he wasn't fazed by it. "Nothing. I was just looking around the place." A frown marred Sasuke's face, but he let it quickly vanish. He wasn't sure whether or not he should be angry or worried. Either Naruto was ignoring the insult to irritate him or he had just lost his old ways. A few years back, the two would have been at each other's throats within a second. Maybe it was better, but it still didn't stop it from nagging at the back of his mind.

"Here, I'll show you your room," he said, not waiting to check if the boy was following him or not, but the soft footsteps that sounded behind him assured him that he was. The two went up the slight winding stairs.

Naruto had noticed that the house had quite a few rooms. A few were downstairs as well as the kitchen and the living room. Upstairs was a hallway with two rooms, one across from the other. Sasuke pushed opened the room door closest to the stairway and walked in.

Like the rest of the house, the room was empty save a bed, a side table, a desk, and a closet. "As you can see, there's the bed. You also have a private bathroom," he said, pointing to a second door in the room. "As for clothes, you'll just have to bare with a few of mine that are in the closet until I get yours cleaned."

Tossing his coat on the floor, he looked around the room, seemingly ignoring the Uchiha. "Your house is seriously boring, you know that?"

'What's that idiot going on about now?' Sasuke thought as he watched the other boy eye his surroundings.

"What?"

"Where are all the preferences and decorations? And what about the personal stuff?" he turned around to look at Sasuke who just stared at him like he had lost his head. "You know, pictures of your family?"

Sasuke's gaze hardened and Naruto instinctively slapped a hand to his mouth, knowing full well that he had said something wrong. He didn't know what it was, but the whirlwind of emotions that flashed in the boy's eyes told him that he had dug up something very personal. 'What happened to you?'

The raven-haired boy hung his head low and brushed past the other boy. "If you need anything, I'll be in the room across," he hissed.

Before he could leave, Naruto grabbed his hand. "Wait!" he softened his tone before continuing. "I'm sorry if I said something to offend you. I kind of say things without thinking…" Even if Naruto had changed throughout the years, it was still rather hard to insult himself, but he knew it was worth it when Sasuke's body visibly relaxed under his touch.

'I guess having to apologize to the cold bastard is still a pain in the ass,' he thought. He mentally kicked himself. 'I was supposed to drop that rivalry crap.'

"It doesn't matter."

"Shut up! There you go again with that damned wall!" he yelled. He smacked his forehead. Again, he had done something stupid. He knew that harsh words weren't going to help, but he hated the way he hid his emotions. It was like this ever since the Academy. "You know, you _can_ talk to me if you need to. I know how it feels… to keep things bottled up inside. And I hated it."

Sasuke didn't make an effort to leave, so Naruto let go of the boy's hand. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, whatever. That probably doesn't help, but yeah."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly as Sasuke turned around, sliding his slender, pale fingers around the smaller boy's wrists, pulling Naruto's form closer to his. He leaned forward and rested his head in the crook of Naruto's neck. The blond let out a soft gasp as he felt Sasuke's warm lips gently graze his soft skin. That slight contact alone was enough to send waves of pleasure up Naruto's spine. 'Why is my body… reacting this way?'

"U-Uh, Sasuke?"

"Thank you… Naruto," he whispered, before turning and exiting the room rather quickly, leaving behind a dumbfounded blond.

* * *

HAH! Now I can finally get on to the part I've been waiting to write! I noticed that my story could be rather abrupt sometimes. Sorry to all the readers who find that annoying. I just skip from scene to scene. I'm trying to be a bit more descriptive in the beginnings of each scene so that people can quickly settle in with the change. I get confused reading my own writing. Now, how sad is that? Haha. I'm glad that a lot of people seemed to like the last chapter.

I just realized I'm not too good at the fluffiness with these two. For some reason, I'm always tempted to make them jump at each other and argue like they usually do. --; Sorry if it's a bit of a disappointment to the readers who like that kind of stuff. I don't want to rush my story.

One more thing! If anyone got confused with the reason that Naruto could keep up with the Sharingan and whatnot… I want to say that I sort of changed the outcome of their battle. Sasuke doesn't have the mangekyou (is that how you spell it?) and Sasuke doesn't know about the fox demon. Sorry about this, but I will say that I have a reason for doing this.

So, what do you think?


	6. Tough Terms

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

Review Questions: Licht Sieger: Thanks for telling me. It's just that I'm not quite as far in the manga as a friend of mine, and she said that during the battle he does get it and finds out about Naruto's demon? Maybe she got confused, I don't know.  


**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 6: Tough Terms

* * *

It was still late at night, but a dream covered in red and black roused him from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes as the wall between a dream and reality fell apart. Sasuke sat up in his bed and ran a slender hand through his dark, silky strands.

He didn't move from his spot and instead stared at the door to the hallway with a blank expression. Then it hit him. It came back in an overwhelming rush and he had to smack himself. He remembered the spar with Naruto and then the events that had taken place just last night. It wasn't anything serious, but it was enough to get the wheels turning in the Naruto's head. Not even he could be that dense and with how he's changed, Sasuke wouldn't put it past him to put two and two together.

Sasuke dragged his hand down his face in a rough manner from exasperation, letting it fall to the bed.

'What was I _thinking_?'

Had he had possession of a mirror at that time, Sasuke swore that he could probably be compared to the color of a ripe tomato. He could feel the blood rushing towards his cheek. He touched his heated skin, disgusted with himself. "Great, now he's going to think I've gone crazy! What..." he stopped and stared at his palms. "What are these feelings?" he whispered.

He couldn't explain it, but at that point in time, every fiber of his body was screaming at him to touch the boy. Sasuke chewed on his lip as he remembered the intense feelings that gave him the burning desire to feel the golden strands and supple skin that he knew would be soft to the touch.

And of course... Instead of ignoring them like a smart person would have... he had wanted to be an idiot and indulge them instead...

The powerful urge to bang his head against the wall several times was extremely tempting. Maybe it would knock some sense into him.

He paled slightly. 'Oh yeah,' he thought. 'He's still here. I better check on him.' The raven-haired boy stood up and quickly changed out of his clothing, deciding that he would just have to shower later on. First, he had to go find Naruto.

Contemplating whether or not he should talk to Naruto, he stood outside the door across from his own. He knocked once to let the other boy know he was there before pushing the door open. Instead of finding a blond curled up in white sheets, sleeping comfortably, he was greeted by an empty room. The sheets had been cleaned and neatly folded along with the blue shirt and black pant he had leant the boy. "I guess... he left already."

Apart of him was a little disappointed from the sudden feeling of loneliness, but then he was also grateful in the sense that he didn't have to face Naruto after what had happened. Yes, it wasn't anything serious, but it was awkward. He just hoped that he hadn't left because of what happened. Sasuke cursed himself inwardly.

He sighed, about to leave when he caught sight of a small piece of paper left atop the folded materials. He picked up the paper. "..." A frown etched his face as his eyes skimmed the note. "I can't even read this..."

* * *

Naruto took great delight in the beautiful morning that greeted him after the rain. The air was cool and moist. He loved walking around just after it had rained. Everything just seemed so fresh. Too bad last night's event was kicking the back of his head. 'Those strange feelings... I can't explain it.' He sighed. 'What's going on with me?' Slowly, his old feelings towards his rival began to appear.

"Damn it, Sasuke," he cursed. "What the hell's up with you, anyway?"

Naruto slumped his shoulders. "He's so damn unpredictable," he whined. "One minute we're fighting and the next he's... he's..." his visage scrunched up. "Well, I don't know what!!" he yelled, flinging his arms up in the air.

He shook his head. 'I don't want to think about that bastard right now,' he thought, settling on diverting his thoughts to his students instead. He smirked.

"Those three are going to have some time climbing trees after that kind of weather," he said, rubbing his palms together in sheer glee at the thought of torturing his students further. Oh, yes. Nothing gave the jounin more pleasure than the daily whining and pouting of the three.

He pulled out the key to his apartment, twirling it by the chain it was attached to. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he neared his home. A familiar figure was leaning against the railing across from his door, arms folded across his chest, and legs crossed.

"Good morning, Naruto."

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," he bowed his head slightly before walking past the silver-haired jounin and sliding in his key. With a _click_ the door opened. He opened the door and invited Kakashi in, but he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine here. Besides, I just dropped by to give you a message along with seeing how you were."

"Oh."

His smile faded and he eyed the boy. Iruka hadn't been lying when she said he had changed. It wasn't just his appearance, but his eyes told him that he wasn't the innocent, loudmouth that he was before. Actually, he kind of liked his loud student. "One question," he began. "Why didn't you inform me of your arrival?"

"I was planning to, just not today. I'm guessing Iruka told you?"

Kakashi grinned at Naruto's perceptiveness. "Yes, actually I did. So, where were you? I came here around nine last night and you were gone."

Naruto's body froze for an instant before returning to normal. Of course, Kakashi's keen eye caught it. 'I wonder what happened?'

"Nowhere. I was sparring with Sasuke before it rained," he stopped. It looked as though he couldn't find the right words to say. Either that, or he just didn't want to say them. "He let me stay at his place for the night."

Though his face was hidden behind that strange mask of his, from the way his visible eye formed a small arch, it would have been plain to anyone that he was smiling. "I see. Did you have fun?"

Naruto didn't like the sound of his voice. It may not have been apparent to someone else, but he knew better. His perverted teacher had been implying something else. "You really have to take you nose out of those stupid books." A light blush had tinged his cheeks. Kakashi was tempted to push the matter further and tease his old student, but thought it would have been a cruel way to welcome back his student. He had missed his loud presence and didn't want that to happen. Whatever happened between the two was for them to know... for now.

"Why do you always suspect that I'm talking about things like _that_?" The innocent act wasn't working. He took back his words when he saw the glare from his student. "Don't answer that."

"Exactly," he said. As annoying and strange as his teacher could be sometimes, he knew he wasn't much better when he was younger. It was pretty funny anyway.

"Does Sasuke know that you left?"

"He should. I left him a note before I left."

The jounin suddenly felt a lot of pity for his dark-haired student. 'Never can rely on Naruto's handwriting. Good thing it isn't important for missions,' he thought. 'If that happened, we all would have died fifty times over by now.'

"But forget about that. What did you want to tell me?"

Kakashi's lazy look vanished for a second as his eyes widened at the tone of the boy's voice. The playful glint in his eye had vanished, only to bring about an expressionless mask. "The jounin exams are beginning today. Tsunade-sama has informed me of your current position as a jounin, but you will still be participating, right?" He waited for a response for the boy and continued after receiving a quick nod. "In that case, go to the tower that held the third test of the chuunin exam as soon as possible. The exam will begin at 2:00 in the afternoon."

"Thanks," he said, smiling at Kakashi. "If you don't mind, I have to go freshen up a bit before heading out."

"Oh yeah, you're currently training a team of genin, eh? So, how goes it?"

"Heh, they're... amusing, to say the least. In fact, it's a lot like being with Team 7 again," he said, his voice slowly weakening. He looked at the ground sadly. He really did miss their group.

Kakashi's eyes softened in understanding of the boy's emotions. "Well, you better get going unless you're planning on arriving late to their new mission." He smirked.

"No, I don't plan on following in your footsteps," he said, laughing. Kakashi only smiled before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Now that he's gone, I better go get changed," he said, closing the door behind him.

Naruto threw aside his jounin uniform. Seeing as he was about to participate in the exams today, he didn't want anyone else to know about it. He rummaged through his drawers for a decent pair of clothing before finally settling with a pair of black pants and a dark, gray shirt. Naruto untied the forehead protector from his arm and rested it on his pillow. "Until I pass this, you'll have to stay here." He slipped on his new clothing and slid either arm into his black coat, adjusting the neck portion. Naruto grabbed a black cloth and tied it around his forehead, the material hanging behind him in two folds falling past his shoulders. His hair fell loosely around his eyes, the black material, holding it back only slightly.

Remembering that the air was chilled, he quickly grabbed a gray scarf and just tossed it over his shoulders and around his mouth. He glanced back at his clock. 'I better get going,' he thought. He locked the door and walked down the hallway, making a habit of swinging his key around by its chain. 'Now for the fun part of the day!'

* * *

"You're late!!" screeched Reiji and Sachiko in unison. Naruto winced at the combination of loud voices. Daisuke only grunted and looked away.

"They're getting more and more like us everyday," he said to himself. Apparently he hadn't noticed that he said it out loud.

"Huh?" Reiji stepped closer. "Like who?"

"What? Oh," Naruto said, coming back to his senses. "It's nothing. You three are just kinda like my old genin team."

Reiji and Sachiko exchanged curious glances. "Who were they?" Reiji asked, tugging lightly at his sleeve. And as an added thought, "How are we alike?"

The blond laughed. "Well, you're a lot like me, actually. Maybe not _quite_ as loud...hehe," he rubbed the back of his head nervously. He _could get pretty damn loud back then... and he wasn't so sure that it was a good thing. _"Anyway, Sachiko was a lot like my friend, Haruno Sakura. And Daisuke over there seems to have a stick up his ass just like Uchiha Sasuke."

"What?!" Daisuke yelled. Reiji immediately took the opportunity to irritate the obviously flustered boy.

Naruto mentally cackled. 'Mwahaha! I got a rise out of him! It must be a gift I have. First Sasuke, then Neji, and now this one.'

Sachiko had wanted to defend the boy, but found herself pushing back a giggle. She tugged gently on the sleeves of her blue outfit. It looked similar to the one Sakura used to wear except that one sleeve ran to the elbows and the other was short sleeved. Reiji fell to the ground laughing, but was cut short and squealed in horror as he found his posterior dampened by the still damp ground. Luckily, his shorts were black. "Aah, my ass!! IT'S COLD!"

Daisuke smirked. "Nice going, moron."

"Shut up, you bastard!"

Sachiko punched Reiji over the head. "Stop yelling! Geez, you can be so annoying," she said, rubbing her temples with her forefingers. "Why can't you be more like Daisuke?" Reiji muttered random incoherencies before sulking. It's not like he was about to argue with the blue-haired girl.

'They are _definitely_ too much like us. It's kinda freaky...' Naruto thought, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. 'It's a surprise that they're not related to any of us.'

"Before you tear each other apart, how about I introduce your new mission!" Naruto interrupted, praying to the gods that it would end their squabbling. From the look of things, Reiji was about to be eaten alive by a certain violent female comrade.

Daisuke frowned. "We don't have any missions today because of the jounin exam. Which brings us to the point. Why are we here in the first place?"

"Well, smartass," he said, grinning as Daisuke scowled in contempt. Sachiko joined in the scowling on Daisuke's behalf while Reiji pointed an accusing finger and laughed at the other boy... _again_. "Let me explain. First of all, you are correct. There are no missions due to the fact that the jounin exam will be taking place only a few hours from now. In fact, I will be participating."

"Why? You're already a jounin!" Reiji blurted.

"I have my reasons, now let me finish," he replied. "Since I have a bit of time on my hands and there aren't any missions today... I thought it would be a good idea to train you three."

All three brightened at the idea. Finally, they were going to do something that was worth their time instead of those ridiculous missions. Walking dogs, picking up trash, babysitting, and going grocery shopping for old people wasn't exactly what they had in mind for their 'missions'.

"All right!! Finally, some training!" Reiji bounced around like a mad fool. Naruto only smiled. It had only been a week since he began teaching the three, but he had to go through the same dull missions. He could remember how much he hated them at their age. They could be unbearable boring.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Sachiko spoke up.

Naruto smirked. "I'm glad you asked!" He brought his hands together to form a seal and closed his eyes. A light gust of wind formed around his feet, before Naruto shoved his hands back into his coat pocket. "Now, watch." He casually walked up the tree at a vertical angle. The three gaped at him. "You see how I did that? This was done through proper chakra control." He continued his way up and perched himself upon a branch, squatting down.

"It can't be that hard," Reiji muttered.

"It may look simple, but trust me, it's not. To climb a tree, you must have a really accurate amount of chakra channeled to your feet. You three should be well versed in proper chakra control by this point. Now, go!" he signaled for them to begin with a wave of his arm.

Both boys shot glares at each other. "I bet I could get up to the top before you, Daisuke!"

"Is that a challenge?" Daisuke smirked. "Then you're on!"

The two mimicked Naruto's earlier moves and darted towards the tree only to fall within three to five steps. Naruto stifled a laugh when he saw the two fall to the ground on their bottoms, soaking their pants. Reiji had been wearing black, but Daisuke was a little less fortunate and had chosen to wear white instead. "Damn it!" the two yelled in unison.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Since the wood is slightly damp from the rain, this only makes it harder to stick to the tree using your chakra." Naruto resisted the urge to cackle evilly as his students threw several obscenities his way.

"I don't see what's so hard about it."

"Eh?" Naruto looked to his side. His brow twitched. "What's with girls... and climbing trees?"

"Hee!" she smiled, giving the two boys below her a thumbs up. Although, they didn't look too happy about it. Well, aside from Reiji, that is.

"Wow, you're amazing, Sachiko!" She smiled at him and nodded. His bright, green eyes shone in admiration for his teammate.

Naruto sighed and folded his arms, standing up from his crouching position. "Well, how do you feel about that? You both got your asses kicked pretty badly. Out of this group, it's obvious that she's worth more than you two."

Reiji shook his fist in the air. "Asshole! Just you watch! I'll get up there!"

Daisuke flinched at the remark. 'Feh...' He spared a sideways glance at his 'rival' and smirked when he had gotten the boy's attention. Obsidian eyes met emerald. Reiji only clenched his fists and frowned. That was all they needed to know. It was now a competition between them.

* * *

Naruto had been intent on the idea of staying on that branch and watching his students fall into a pit of misery, but as fun as torturing the two boys seemed... he had to leave. He had sent Sachiko back home and insisted the boys do the same, but both were too stubborn. 'I wonder if they've managed to get to the top yet?' he thought. Watching them pout and whine was fun, but he held a large amount of compassion in his heart for them. The blond was silently hoping that the two would get done soon. He'd have to treat them to some ramen afterwards.

Naruto skipped through the trees. The jounin exam wasn't going to begin until a little above a half an hour, but he had planned on meeting everyone else here. Individual visits would have taken way too long and answering the questions he knew everyone would ask ten times over wasn't exactly the way he wanted to spend his time. The mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement tangled with each other leaving a rather uncomfortable sensation in his abdomen. 'I wonder what everyone's like now.'

The knot in his stomach only tightened as he neared the meeting point. "There's the tower," he whispered. He dove off a branch and landed gracefully in front of the gateway. He stood up and scanned the area. "Am I just supposed to walk in?" When he realized that no one was around, he shrugged his shoulders and pushed open the doors to the room. It was the same room that Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto had been in after the successful completion of the second test. Iruka had greeted them warmly.

The blond raised his hand slowly to the framed paper on the wall. Iruka had explained to them what 'Heaven' and 'Earth' had meant. Only with both, can you be powerful.

"What's your name?" A boy with eyes that held a soft shade of purple stepped out of the dark. His long, dark locks hung in a loose binding behind his back.

Naruto wanted to insult the boy for his stupidity at not being able to recognize him, but he had forgotten about the gray scarf he had pulled slightly over his mouth. It really did get cold after the rain. He laughed and walked towards his companion. "Can't recognize me," he stopped and pulled down his scarf. "Neji?"

Neji's eyes widened. "Naruto?" he stuttered. Before he could let himself be drawn to the conclusion that it really was his old friend standing before him, he wanted to make one last confirmation. "Byakugan!" His pupils whitened and veins tightened beneath his skin. His eyes widened further as his white eyes slowly returned to a faint purple. "It really is you."

"In the flesh!" He folded his hands behind his head and flashed the boy a grin.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, lowering his arms and shoving them back into his pockets. "What?"

"It's nothing. Come. We should go meet up with the others," he suggested, turning his back on Naruto. The questions were on the tip of his tongue, ready to be said, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It wasn't the time and Neji was pretty sure that the guy was probably damned sick of answering the same questions over and over again.

Naruto nodded and followed, taking off his scarf and placing it on his shoulder.

The two soon entered the room where the preliminaries for the final test had been held. He scanned the room. 'Everyone's here...' All the leaf-nins that had fought beside him were there. There were fighters from several different villages.

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura stood off to one side, chattering away. Shikamaru and Choji were close by. The blond began to wonder if she had told them about his arrival, but then Sakura _had_ promised that she would keep that a secret. He finally agreed with himself that he could trust her. After all, even if they hadn't exactly been the best of friends during their childhood, they had grown to develop a strong sense of respect for each other.

He continued to look around the room. Neji had now joined Lee and the two were arguing over something or another while TenTen just stood off to the side, ignoring her old teammates. 'Looks like Lee's up and running again. Still after Neji as well, I see,' he thought. He chuckled lightly. 'Things haven't changed.'

Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, and Kakashi were on the right side of the arena, circled around in the center area of the strip along the wall. Naruto wasn't sure if it was just him or not, but he could have sworn that they were glancing his way everyone now and then. Even Gaara was, accompanied by Temari and Kankuro. Naruto guessed that they were probably participating as well.

"Sheesh. Everyone _is _here. Even some of the jounin teachers," he whispered. The area was full with people from competitors to those who had merely stopped by to watch. Still, not just anyone could come in since there was a limit to space. It had been narrowed down to just a few people.

"Ah, there you are Naruto!" The blond turned to come face to face with none other than the Hokage herself.

He smiled. "Hey, old hag."

She punched his head. "I treat you nicely and this is what I get? Ungrateful brat!" She said, ruffling his hair affectionately. No matter how many times she insulted him, it was never out of spite. It was like watching a brother and sister squabble over who gets the bathroom first in the morning. Of course, the older sister usually won.

Naruto winced and rubbed his sore head. "Do you _always_ have to hit me?! Look!" he pointed to the swelling at top of his head. "The damned thing hasn't even started and already I'm injured!"

She held a hand to her stomach and laughed. "Well, that's what you get for being rude."

He was going to make a witty retort when a strong hand clamped his mouth. "Shut up, kid. Unless you want another ten of those bruises," he said, releasing the boy from his grip. "And where's your forehead protector?" he questioned, looking at the black cloth around the boy's forehead.

Naruto smiled and stood straight. "None other than the perverted, old geezer." Jiraiya cringed at the nickname. "I've got that put away, but I'll bring it out soon. So, you two here to watch?"

"Yes, we'll be watching the fights. And if you excuse us, we'll be going to the front now," Tsunade said. Jiraiya walked ahead of her when she stopped and turned to him. "Good luck, Naruto."

He nodded her off and went about on his own. "Naruto!!" He winced as the name seemed to echo throughout the room.

'That just destroyed my plans of going around quietly.'

"Eh...hehe. Hi, Sakura," he gave her a nervous grin, rubbing the back of his head. Lee had followed close behind.

She smiled before pulling him into a tight embrace. Sakura had changed back into her usual red outfit. "I was waiting for you!" Sakura quirked her brows at his sudden nervous behavior. His eyes were darting from side to side, trying desperately to ignore the strange looks he was receiving. "Why are you so nervous? I didn't tell anyone about your secret!"

He let out a prolonged sigh and smiled at her. "Yeah you didn't. Until now." He laughed. Sakura looked around the room, and sure enough, all eyes were fixed on him.

"...Oops. I'm sorry! But," She said, slapping the side of his arm. "That doesn't matter! They were going to find out anyway," she said, beaming at him, obviously proud of her logic. It's true, they would have, but she practically advertised it to every single person in the room.

"Are you fighting in the matches, too, Sakura?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am! I've been training, so now I get to show my improvements. I think everyone is," she informed him. Naruto smiled. He had wanted to see how much she had grown since his departure, but he wasn't too happy that she would have to fight. Hinata, too. Even though she could be considered a worthy opponent, she was too fragile.

Finally speaking up, Lee studied Naruto's appearance before slinging an arm over Naruto's shoulder. "It's good to see you, Naruto! Where have you been?" He let his body relax under the boy's weight as he leaned against him. He mouthed a quick 'I'll tell you later'. Lee understood the boy's discomfort and nodded. "I look forward to watching your match Naruto, and if by chance we are against each other, then good luck to the both of us!"

Naruto smiled at the other boy's modesty. "Yeah."

"Why don't we go wait over there?" Sakura suggested, pointing to the spot that she had currently been before pouncing the unsuspecting blond. Lee and Sakura both turned, expecting the blond to follow suit.

"Nah, you guys go ahead. I'd like to walk around." Sakura had wanted to press the matter further, but Lee shook his head and dragged her away from her friend, much to her dismay. He sighed. "Close. I better go wait somewhere away from everyone's line of vision." Naruto settled for a dull, shaded area along the side of the wall that contestants and watchers could wait. He leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto groaned.

'Not again,' he thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to see everyone, but every time someone came up to him, it just _had_ to be a squealing girl.

"Ino," he said, nodding to her as a sign of acknowledgement.

"Is that all you're going to say after disappearing into thin air and then just popping back here?!" she said.

"Guess so," he replied. 'Aah! Make the noises go away!' he silently prayed.

Ino was about to say something more when a hand caught her shoulder, holding her back. "Could you be a little less loud, Ino?" Shikamaru pleaded with the blond. At least someone else agreed that it was a bit too loud. Naruto was surprised to see that Ino quietly obliged.

"But I was just saying..." he gave her a bored look and she gave up. 'I'm not even going to bother...'

"You're too troublesome," he muttered.

"Fine!" she huffed. Shikamaru smiled at her and soon turned to face Naruto.

"I can bet a lot of people have been bothering you lately, so we'll just get out of your way."

Naruto didn't thank him, only nodded. Shikamaru returned the nod before dragging Ino off to where Choji stood, waiting for the two. "He's changed, Shikamaru. Those dark clothes and his attitude practically scream out that fact."

"I know, but now's not the time. I'm sure he'll tell us when he wants to," he said, trying to calm down the brooding girl. 'Ino really is tiresome sometimes. I can't do this anymore...'

On the other side of the room where all the Leaf chuunins stood, Kiba, Hinata, Sakura, Lee, Shino, and Neji discussed everyone's new topic.

"What's up with Naruto, eh?" Kiba asked.

Sakura only shrugged. "I know his appearance has change, but overall, he's still the same Naruto," she replied.

"I disagree," Ino spoke up. Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino joined the group. "It's not just that. His attitude. It's different. Since when does he stand in a corner and hide?"

Sakura turned her head and, sure enough, the said blond was leaning against the wall, obviously trying to avoid any attention.

_The complete opposite of how he was..._

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but she's right," Lee said. He knew that Sakura took note of these changes, but she was close to the boy. The thought of letting him slip through her fingers was a little more than she would care to handle. It was the same for Hinata. Naruto had been always been the source of her strength to move forward. Both hung their heads low.

The pink-haired ninja nodded slowly. Lee rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which she accepted gratefully. She reached over and touched his hand with her own. "Yes, there's no point in denying it." She didn't understand. It was true that there was a definite difference in his mannerisms, but his attitude had seemed a lot warmer when she met him back at Ichiraku.

Kiba grunted. "The least he could do is come over here and explain things to us." He knew about Hinata's affections for the boy and he wasn't planning on watching her grow upset over his strange behavior. But he himself was slightly worried. It wasn't like him.

"Just give him some time," Shikamaru droned out. 'Why are they making such a big deal? Geez... Just too damned troublesome...' Choji, of course, agreed with his friend. Shikamaru was always right.

"I believe he will speak to us when he wants to," Neji spoke up.

The others were a bit startled by his confidence in the blond, but nodded in agreement.

_When he wanted to... but when was that?_

* * *

Sasuke had arrived at the last minute, wearing the same blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol and the white shorts. He never really did care for fashion, but at least he didn't wear them every second. It was just with battles. Sasuke looked around the room and found everyone to have gathered. 'I thought he said he was participating? Where is he?' He let his eyes wander across the room until it came to a sudden halt. Naruto was casually leaning against the wall. It looked as though he was sleeping. He frowned. Wasn't Naruto supposed to be jumping around trying to be the center of attention?

"Sasuke! Over here!" He looked up at the pink-haired girl who was waving at him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked up to meet them.

"Hey," he said. He raised a hand in acknowledgement, but his expression remained blank.

"Where were you? You're late! The exam's already starting!" Sakura questioned. He casually shrugged his shoulders.

"I was looking for someone, but I arrived her in time for the matches didn't I? That's all that matters," he said coolly.

She hunched over and sighed. 'Again with that attitude. Still, you have to love him!' she thought. She had given up on ever reaching the boy and settled for acting as more of a sister towards him, but she still couldn't help but look at him longingly every once in a while. Her little crush hadn't completely faded quite yet. Lee, though, was helping to speed that process. He really was kind and warm to her. He sure as hell wasn't Sasuke, but Sasuke wasn't Lee either.

Sasuke looked around him and saw that everyone was staring at something or rather. Or someone. He followed their gaze and realized that they were looking at Naruto. No surprise there. He just appeared without a word.

'Yeah,' he thought. 'And completely changed...'

All eyes turned forward when, in a cloud of smoke, a jounin appeared below in the center of the arena.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" he called out. When all eyes settled on him, he continued. "Welcome to the Jounin exams. I am Genma and will be your examiner. I will begin explaining the exam." He cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest. "In this year's exams, you will be fighting in a preliminary match before moving on to the final test. It is similar to that of the chuunin exam's third test."

Asuma snickered. "Creative aren't we?"

Kakashi smiled. "Creative or not, this will be exciting," he said, looking over at a certain blond. Naruto remained in the same, relaxed position. Kakashi couldn't tell, but he had a feeling that Naruto was aware of everything going on around him, though he didn't appear to.

'Now, show us your growth, Naruto.'

"There are some differences, though. In this test..." he stopped. The room's occupants shifted. Many of the fighters were itching for a fight and this only added to their torment. "In this test, you will be allied with one other contestant."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "What?"

Shikamaru finally snapped out of his daze to pay proper attention to the speaker. "Did he just say that we'd be _allied_ with someone?"

"Don't worry, you guys!" Sakura said, trying to reassure them. "Whoever partners up with you two will surely win!" She herself wasn't too fond of the idea. Hopefully she'd be partnered with someone decent. Decent. Meaning someone who wasn't freaky. She eyed some of the odd looking participants along the opposite wall.

"The two are expected to work together and defeat their opponent. The winners of the match will then move on to the final match," he said. "In the final matches, you will not continue working with your partner. Instead, this is a way to halve the contestants. Once this is over, you will all be fighting on your own."

Neji looked over at Naruto. 'I wonder who you will fight beside.' The blond opened one eye and caught Neji's gaze. He looked up and smiled at him before returning to sleep. 'So, he _was_ sleeping...' he thought.

"Also," he began again. "You..." he was interrupted as everyone broke out into a wild chatter.

"What, more rules?" Shikamaru frowned. 'What next? Hack of our legs and arms and tell us to fight that way?' The rules weren't that bad, but the thought of working with some sort of freak wasn't a pleasant idea. 'Why did I agree to do this stupid thing...?' he thought.

Genma quickly grew irritated with the interruptions, but smothered his anger and continued on. "As I was saying," he yelled. He lowered his voice once the room had quieted. "There is one other condition to this. If one partner, or both, is unable to continue battling at any time during the fight..."

Sasuke knew what was coming next and he wasn't too happy about it. He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. 'A handicap...'

"The match will be stopped and both will fail," he finally finished.

"What?! This is stupid!" yelled Kiba. A few of the others around his silently agreed. "Why should I get held back if some moron can't stay on his feet!"

There was no doubt about it. Everyone competing was bound to be powerful, but what would happen if the strengths of a team were unfair? Sasuke didn't like the idea, but there was still a chance that he'd be partnered with someone strong. At the very least, he hoped that he'd get someone who could protect himself.

Naruto's ear twitched lightly upon hearing the final part. He smiled. 'I see, so that's what this is,' Naruto thought. 'This handicap is to test, not only our strengths, but our ability to survive by working with teammates.'

As it can sometimes occur in missions, both fighters will now be forced to rely and protect one another to survive. If one member of the group is taken out, the others are weakened. It's an important aspect in being able to complete a mission properly. But it's not just for the sake of the mission and the team's strength, but also because of simply trying their best to keep one another alive and healthy. To care for one another.

He looked down and saw Genma exchanging a few words with Tsunade before standing off to the back. She stepped forward and raised her hand into the air. The clatter in the room died down. "Now that you know the terms, you may go home," she said. "But not before your partner is decided."

"What is the old hag goin' on about now?" Naruto whispered. Across the room from the blond, Sasuke was getting rather irritated with the news of their upcoming battle.

'First was the ludicrous rule and now she wants us to go back?' his mind screamed out in annoyance.

"As for those of you who are wondering why I'm sending you back," she began. "This is just so that you will at least have some knowledge of who your partner is and will be given the opportunity to fully understand the strengths of your team before the official beginning of the exam tomorrow. We already have the names of the participants. Your partnerships will now be displayed on that board," Tsunade said, pointing to the scoreboard that buzzed before coming to life. A list of names was on the board. The names shuffled for what seemed like hours before finally stopping and displaying the teams.

Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru

Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata

Haruno Sakura and Rock Lee

Inuduka Kiba and Aburame Shino

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto

Kankuro and Temari

Akamichi Choji and TenTen

Several other teams had been displayed on the board to create the total of fourteen teams. There were twenty-eight participants so, at the most, seven teams will make it.

Naruto closed his eyes after catching a few glimpses at the pairings. 'Those seem like they were handpicked...' He sighed. 'This is just beautiful.'

* * *

AH! Long chapter, long chapter! (screams) I think I got a little carried away. Oh well! It was fun to write, so whatever. This chapter was a bit dull. Sorry to take things slow. At this point in the story, I'm trying to get the exams over. Once that's out of the way, I'm going to try and get the real plot in. Well, let me know what you think.


	7. The First Match

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 7: The First Match

* * *

After the terms for the preliminary exam had been issued, the tower had been cleared out. Ino's team, Sakura, Lee, Neji, Kiba, and Hinata sat down at their usual spot to just catch up. It was not far off from Shikamaru's home, which gave him a clear view of the sky. Perfect for the lazy chuunin.

"I don't know about you guys, but I don't like that stupid rule," Kiba said. He had been grumbling about it since they had left. "And I have to work with that Shino! He'll probably just try to order me around again!"

Sakura shook her head. She wasn't really disappointed since she had been paired up with Lee. She had been slightly hoping that either Naruto or Sasuke would have been her partners since she knew how to work with them, but Lee was just as good if not better. Her respect and affections for the boy had grown tenfold since the time she had first met him. "I don't think it's that bad," she muttered.

"That's because you get to work with your boyfriend over there!"

Lee brightened at the statement and tears rolled down his eyes. "Really, Sakura?! Am I yo-"

"NO!" she punched him over the head. "S-Since when?!" Ino couldn't help but laugh at the deep red that stained her friend's cheeks.

"Whatever, Sakura," she teased.

Sakura glared at Ino. "Shut up, Ino-pig!" she yelled.

"Ugly!"

"PIG!"

And it went on. Shikamaru and Chouji slowly distanced themselves from the quarreling girls. "They're scary when they get mad..." Chouji stated the obvious, gulping.

Shikamaru nodded, his right eye twitching. He had thought they're childhood squabbles were over, but he guessed wrong. And how often was he wrong about something? "N-No kidding..."

He sat down on the ground in a cross-legged position, his arms folded across his chest. He was thinking. He didn't mind his team. Ino's and his own techniques as a combination were perfect. With his strategies, they could be considered unbeatable. Maybe. Plus, he was happy to have her fight beside him. Without realizing it, he began to stare at her.

"Hm? What is it Shikamaru?"

"Eh? Er, nothing!" He looked away. She smiled and turned away. "What do you guys think of the teams?" he continued.

"I hate it!" yelled Kiba.

"Other than Kiba."

Hinata twiddled her thumbs. She wasn't sure what to think of her team. Ever since their fight, Neji had grown to respect her. His tone with her had become gentler. Hinata wasn't the stuttering, useless girl she had been. She had grown stronger and bolder, but that didn't change the fact that she was extremely shy. "I have confidence... in my team..." she whispered.

Neji nodded. "The teams seem well evened out. What one person couldn't do alone can do with a good partner." As surprising as it was to find that coming from someone who had always preferred to work on his own, they had to agree.

"Yeah, but what about the Sand team?" Sakura asked. Luckily for them, Gaara wasn't participating, for reasons they weren't aware of. But whatever the reasons, it was a gift from the gods.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't think we have to worry about them. We have a good idea of their abilities, but I can bet they've improved on their techniques."

Chouji continued to munch on a bag of potato chips, nodding frantically in agreement. Shikamaru had always been his close friend, and he knew that when Shikamaru was sure of something, it was right. "We pretty much know what they can do."

"This is all great, but what about Naruto and Sasuke?" Ino blurted. That was the question that she knew everyone had been worrying about, but of course, she was the one brave enough to say it. Shikamaru and Sakura looked downward as the others only grew silent. 'Why are they so nervous anyway? It's not like Naruto's around,' she thought, scanning her surroundings to double check. 'I think...'

No one replied. Shikamaru shut his eyes and frowned. 'Those two... What are their true strengths? No one has been around to notice Sasuke's since he goes off on his own and Naruto left the village,' he thought.

"Those two make a good pair," Sakura said. "Even if they did argue just about every second of the day, if not completely ignore each other, the two worked well in battle. And neither one of us knows their full potentials, especially Naruto's." It was true.

Neji frowned. "Basically, they're the ones we're going to have to watch out for. Whatever it is, I hope it's us that they are faced against."

Hinata wasn't quite as content with the idea as her partner was. She cared about Naruto, but battle wasn't exactly how she had planned on spending some time with the blond. "...I-I don't know..." she stuttered.

Sakura smiled and looked at the girl sadly. It had been obvious to everyone since the academy that she had feelings for Naruto, but he had always been too dense to realize a thing. 'But then,' she closed her eyes. 'he's changed. I wonder if he's still that way?'

* * *

Tsunade slumped over the desk, cupping her head with her hands. "How many?"

"I managed to find one, but apparently there were two others that ended up the same way."

She leaned back in her chair. "I should have known something like this would happen during the exams. Well, Kakashi. We might have to sort through the teams again. Please deliver the message to Naruto and the others."

He nodded. "I'll figure out the pairings." She raised a hand in dismissal and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"How many more of these incidents do I have to hear about?" she folded her arms across her chest. "I wonder if Naruto will be okay."

* * *

It was the evening and it was getting fairly dark. The lights of the markets and food bars were lit and there were still small crowds along the street sides. It seemed peaceful and he took the time to enjoy it.

Naruto continued his way down the familiar path to his apartment. It was strange having to revert back to old ways after being gone for such a long time. He carefully observed every detail of the area, taking in every little change. And in fact, there weren't that many. He was thankful for it.

Though, there was one drastic change. The eyes of the villagers. They no longer held that look of hatred and resentment. People walked by without sparing him a second glance if any. In his book, this was a good thing. But when someone did stop to speak with him, they would wave or smile kindly. It was... unusual, to say the least... but pleasant.

'Maybe... maybe I will continue my life here.'

He pulled up on the collar of the dark coat and pulled out his keys. He held the key with a gloved hand, the cool metal twirling about the exposed skin at his fingers.

As the blond neared an alleyway that he had taken to get back to his apartment every once in while, he picked up a strange scent. He frowned and tried to figure out what it was and it's source, but decided to ignore it. It probably wasn't even near him anyway.

Normally, one wouldn't be able to pick out the scent, but with his sharpened senses, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. With the harsh training that Naruto had to endure under Jiraiya, he had developed a very good grasp on the ability to tap into the chakra of the demon sealed within him. Perhaps he had gotten too good a grasp of it. Jiraiya had made it clear to him that the kyuubi was, indeed, merging with him. The more he tapped into the demon's power, the more it became apart of him.

At first, he had been reluctant to wield the power that belonged to the very being that had made his life a living Hell, but he had been assured that merging with it wouldn't cause him to lose himself to the kyuubi. Naruto went with that and as the years passed, his chakra began to change. For some reason, it caused him to look more human, though it was obvious from his presence that he was far from it. Whatever the case, this new ability had made him stronger.

Naruto stopped abruptly, catching the key before it made a full turn. He narrowed his eyes, clutching the keys in a tight grip as the jagged edges of the metal pressed against his gloved palm, threatening to rip through the fabric.

That scent he had picked up earlier... it was getting stronger. It was a smell that he had become all too familiar with over the years.

The smell of blood.

As he drifted down the alleyway, the stench became stronger and filled his sense. It was sour and left a sickening feeling in his stomach, but he had been around it far too long to be fazed by it. Once at the edge, he discovered what had been giving off the foul smell.

A body was thrown amongst discarded boxes and crates. His shirt had been shredded and a thick, crimson liquid pooled around the lifeless form. Naruto's eyes darted, scanning his surroundings to make sure whoever had done this was gone. When he was sure no one was there, he bent down and carefully looked over the figure.

"Broken arms, broken legs," he whispered, pressing two fingers against the arms.

Naruto frowned. He recognized the face of the man. He was one of the participants in the jounin exams. 'They must be trying to kill off competition...' He slipped his hands in his pockets and turned, giving the mangled form a final, sympathetic glance. 'The ANBU members will clean this up.'

* * *

It was getting darker with each passing minute, and he was aware that he should be getting some rest rather than strolling around. There was always time for that after the exams. But seeing everything made him nostalgic. Naruto wandered his way back to that one place that he cherished. The place where it had all began. The start of his life as a ninja.

Once he had reached the forest, the sky had grown pitch black and the moon hung low in the sky, it's brilliant glow lighting the area beautifully. He made his way to the monument that held the names of fallen heroes. His deep blue eyes widened in surprise before his mask fell back into place.

Someone else was there.

"Oi, shouldn't you be getting some rest? The exams are tomorrow, after all," Naruto said, smirking. The other boy raised his eyes to the blond, pushing back his dark locks.

"I should say the same for you."

Naruto shook his head, chuckling lightly. "Yeah, yeah. So, what are you up to Neji?"

The corner of his mouth curved in a small smile. "I couldn't sleep."

"You, too, eh?" Naruto stood beside Neji.

Naruto pulled his right hand out of his pocket and rested his palm against the monument. He closed his eyes and silently traced the names engraved on the cool surface with his nimble fingers. Several names had been added to the list since his departure. Some were even names that belonged to those that he had known and worked with in the past. He winced every time he came by a name that he was familiar with. He took a step back, bowing his head down in respect.

He raised his head when he felt a hand on his shoulder, before it was quickly removed. "You do know that our teams have been changed, correct?"

The blond raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Naruto folded his arms and waited for his friend to explain. "Participants have been 'disappearing'."

Naruto frowned as he recalled the body that he had found earlier. "Disappearing as in... dying."

Neji nodded. "Disqualifying teams that have lost a partner would be unfair to the other. So, the teams were sorted through again. Delaying the exams would have been too much trouble, so the news was delivered to the participants in person."

"I see, but what about the partners? When will we find that out?"

"We already have."

Naruto tapped his foot on the ground in anticipation. "And? Then who are you with?"

Neji turned his back on Naruto. "You."

Naruto smirked. 'Not much of a change from Sasuke, but hey... anything's better than him.' Well, not that he _minded_ working with Sasuke. After all, they _did _work well together and ever since that little situation at the guy's house he had to admit that he found him pretty attr-

He smacked himself in the forehead. 'ARGH! I'm going psycho! I need help... _right now_!' He was on the verge of throttling himself (as hard as that would be) when a familiar presence joined the two. He would have said something had Neji not beaten him to it.

"You don't have to hide in the shadows. It's pointless since your intensity gives you away." Within a second, a dark figure cloaked in black stood behind Naruto. Neji could feel an intense gaze directed at his back like a knife piercing his flesh in a swift movement. He smirked and walked off, but not without a few choice words. "There's no need to be jealous. It wasn't like I was going to _do_ anything."

Confused, blue eyes looked on at the brunette's retreating form, confused as to what he was referring to, but shrugged it off. 'Never could understand the guy anyway. No point starting now.'

Once the Hyuga had left, only two were left.

Obsidian orbs captured cerulean...

Before the blond could utter a single word of protest, he was roughly pinned to a tree. Strong pressure kept his arms and legs firm. Naruto's mask hadn't cracked. He only blinked and stared at the pale figure standing in front of him.

"What were you doing?" the voice was low and demanding.

"Uuh..." Naruto was stumped. "I was talking with Neji?" He could feel the grip on his arms slowly loosen.

"That's it?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Geez, what did he expect? Plucking each other's eyes out and eating them?' He shuddered. 'Okay, maybe that's not the most pleasant thought.'

"Yeah... What's up with you? Seriously, Sasuke. You've got some serious attitude problems."

The raven-haired boy grunted and released the smaller boy from his tight hold. "Hn."

"See what I mean?"

It was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever, I just wanted to let you know that we aren't partners for the exam anymore." Naruto managed to pick out a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Ah! So you _wanted _to be my partner! I feel special," Naruto grinned playfully. How he loved to push the stoic boy's buttons.

Sasuke visibly stiffened, and whirled around so that his back was facing the blond. He let his dark hair fall in front of his face to hide the obvious redness. "You wish, moron," he muttered.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, well, if that's it... Neji beat you to it. He told me about the new partnerships." When the raven-haired boy didn't respond, he took it as his cue to leave. "Right... I guess I'll just... go."

"Why?"

"Wha?" Naruto frowned and looked at Sasuke. "Because it's late and the exams are tomorrow maybe?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?" he asked, feeling rather irritated. He was getting tired and Sasuke was acting weird.

Sasuke lifted his black eyes to look at Naruto. He walked over to Naruto and brought a hand to his cheek, smiling lightly as he gently caressed the warm flesh with his own cold skin. "Uh," Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at Sasuke as if he had lost his mind.

'Not again!' he screamed in his mind.

..._Maybe he had lost his mind..._

"Why did you leave?"

Naruto's eyes softened as he searched the dark pools. It was strange to see the usually calm, cool exterior crack slightly to reveal confusion and... longing? "I..." he slipped back under his mask. "I felt like getting away from this place." Naruto brushed aside Sasuke's hand and turned his back on him. "Just got sick of those eyes," he said. He smiled sadly. "I wanted to leave. I wanted to get away from all that hate, if only for a while."

Apparently, the answer wasn't good enough for Sasuke. His face twisted with anger. "So, you just abandoned the people who did care?" Naruto flinched at the remark and the intense anger that came with it. "What about the people who did care, huh? And since when did you let the villager's opinions effect you!"

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "The he-" he was in the middle of throwing a sharp reply at the other boy when he was pulled into a warm embrace from behind. Lithe arms encircled his waist, pulling him closer. "S-Sasuke, w-what do you think you're doing?!" he stuttered, trying frantically to get free, but froze when he felt soft lips brush the back of his neck.

"Why did you leave us?" he repeated. He pulled the smaller boy's form closer to his own, taking comfort in the warmth that his body gave him.

"Like I said," Naruto growled, irritated for having to answer the same question more than once and being interrupted on top of it all.

"Why... why did you leave me?" he whispered, the words barely audible. His eyes widened slightly before closing shut.

"...Sasuke."

"Was it because of me?" Naruto wriggled out of Sasuke's grip and turned to look at him sadly. "Did you leave because of something I did?" He asked almost pleadingly.

Naruto searched the dark depths again. 'What more do you want from me?' He turned his back to Sasuke.

"Go home, Sasuke."

And he left.

* * *

Tsunade wasn't sure what it was, but everyone in the arena looked rather tired... not to mention frustrated. Then again, she couldn't blame them. Due to the recent _disappearances _of the fighters, a lot of complications had been thrown into the match-ups. She sighed. There had been a total of five deaths during the exams. The matches hadn't even started yet, and already they were killing each other off.

'I hate this job,' she mentally kicked herself for accepting the request.

She scanned the room. "Looks like everyone's here." Her eyes stopped on her favorite blond. Sakura was chattering away while he stood by and smiled, nodding occasionally. Aside from that, he was squabbling away with his rival. The two scowled at each other before Sakura jumped in as usual, separating the two. Instead of continuing the argument, Naruto fell back into his calm, reserved mannerism.

Tsunade gazed worriedly at him. She had been watching the entire time and saw how quickly he faded back to that expressionless mask. She leaned over to Jiraiya who had decided he'd come watch, interested to see this new partnership idea. Well, more so to see the result of Naruto's training, but that was only most of the reason. "See? There it is again! That mask..." her voice softened. "It's like he's back to his old self and then quickly slips away again."

Jiraiya looked on at her with pity. She really did love the boy and ever since he had left, she had beaten herself up over the matter, believing that she could have prevented his departure. Tsunade clenched her fists slightly, and gazed at her feet. "Tsunade, the kid's strong. He'll be fine. Just give 'em some time."

She nodded. 'Yes, I'll give him some time, all right, but he's not getting away so easily. I'm going to _make_ him remember how he used to be.' She smirked. 'I guess I'm just going to have to kick you back to your old ways, brat.'

* * *

Naruto skimmed the piece of paper that he had been handed. It was a listing of all the teams and the new partnerships. Most of them had already received news on it, but there were still some who weren't aware of it. He checked out a few of the pairings.

Rock Lee and Nara Shikamaru

Hyuga Hinata and Aburame Shino

Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto

Kankuro and Temari

Yamanaka Ino and TenTen

Inuzuka Kiba and Akamichi Chouji

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura

He couldn't help but chuckle at the last one. She had seemed content with Lee, but it was obvious she still had a thing for the dark-haired enigma. It wasn't surprising really, since she _had_ been running after him for quite a while. 'That explains why she was so excited earlier,' he thought. Sometimes he really wondered what everyone saw in the guy. But then again, he also had a feeling that he knew very well what the answer to that question was.

He shivered lightly as he recalled how close he had been to him. He placed a hand at the back of his neck where he could still feel those soft lips pressed gently against his skin. Naruto sighed. Things between them had been odd. In all the scenarios that he had played in his mind of their meeting after he had returned, all the ones he had gone through were nothing like them. Instead of settling things out between them, he had been thrown into a whirlpool of emotions. 'Great... Just my luck to make things even worse.'

The volume fell down several notches when Tsunade took a step forward and raised her hand to the air, demanding everyone's attention. The room's occupants all turned to the woman, looking on in excitement. It was finally about to begin.

"Before we start, I would like to apologize for the confusion concerning the teams. We encountered a few... casualties," she said, inhaling deeply. "But with that said," she paused. "The jounin exam... has now begun!" She lowered her hand and gave a quick nod to Genma.

He stepped to the center of the arena and briefly ran over the rules again before the board was exposed. The board was flickered and a jumble of names darted across the screen. "The first match is," he began.

Naruto leaned against the wall, uninterested. Sakura frowned at her old friend. 'He's like that again. What's with him?' she sighed.

The names stopped.

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura vs. Inuzuka Kiba and Akamichi Chouji

* * *

This chapter's outcome was slightly changed due to some requests from other people. Hehe. Well, I'm going to spend maybe the next chapter for the matches, so don't expect anything mushy. That's for after the matches!! Mwahahaha. (cricket noises) Erm... well, I hope you liked this chapter. It's not as long as the others, but I really didn't feel like continuing with the fight. I think I'll just end that all with the next one or maybe into the one after. Well, let me know what you think!


	8. Burning Evil

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 8: Burning Evil

* * *

The competitors for the first match stood in the center of the arena, carefully watching each other. 

'This should be fun...' Kiba cracked his knuckles. 'I'll finally be able to prove how strong I am! Too bad I couldn't have fought Shino, though... that bastard.'

"Akamaru? You ready?" A confident bark proved that he was. "All right, then" he said, as he pointed a finger at his rather bored looking opponent. "LET'S GO, AKAMARU... CHOUJI!!"

Silence.

"Eh?" He looked around frantically. "CHOUJI?!" A scream. He looked up. "What the...?" His eyebrow twitched.

"NO!! I don't want to fight that guy!"

"Damn it, Chouji! Stop being so troublesome! Just go already!"

"BUT!"

An angry blonde brushed past Shikamaru and pounded Chouji in the head. "No arguments, Chouji! Just get down there already!"

"Eek!" Chouji was gone from the wall side and was by Kiba in the blink of an eye.

Kiba sweat dropped. 'Are we... gonna be okay?' he thought.

Shikamaru backed away slowly. 'Geez, she's scary when she's mad...'

Ino smiled triumphantly. "Gooo, Chouji!!" She pounded her fists into the air in a Lee-like fashion.

"I'm surprised you're not rooting for Sasuke instead, Ino," Shikamaru said, slinging his arms over the railing.

"Yeah, but it's not like he needs it. Sasuke's perfect as it is!"

If he wasn't so tired, he could've sworn that he saw her eyes sparkling. Actually, it kind of made the brunette feel... jealous. 'She always seems so happy when he's the topic,' He sighed. 'I _still_ don't see what girls see in a guy like that.'

"Hrm?" he felt a lightweight lean against his shoulder.

"Of course, I think you're perfect too Shika."

"EH?!" his strength gave out, and he fell from the added weight, straight to the floor. He looked up at her, frowning, but he couldn't hide the red that stained his cheeks. She giggled lightly.

'Maybe having Sasuke as an opponent _isn't_ going to be too fun.' Kiba let his eyes run over the black-haired enigma. His eyes were closed in thought, arms folded across his chest. 'Just great. And on top of that, Sakura's a medical-nin.' He glanced over to his partner.

Chouji held his head. "Why me?! All I wanted to do was eat some barbecue... but Ino had to force me into this!!"

'We're doomed...'

* * *

"They're pretty strong now." 

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto smirked.

Neji nodded. "All four of them have improved a lot, though Chouji's interests have... remained the same."

Naruto chuckled lightly to himself. 'Same old, Chouji,' he thought. It was comforting. Not much had changed. Though he couldn't say as much for himself. 'But then, I...'

"I have to say Sakura's improved a lot. After you left, she studied medicine and trained under Tsunade." Naruto smiled lightly.

'Sakura, huh?' He had never admitted it, but she had always been a burden to them in some ways. Unreliable Sakura. Yet, she was always determined to do better and it showed in the end. She strived to become something more, to at least be able to take care of herself and aid them as well.

"Sasuke, on the other hand," he began. Naruto's ears perked up at the mention of the name.

_What had he been doing since he left, anyway? How much stronger is he now? _

Neji smirked, glancing at Naruto for a second before returning his gaze to the competitors in the ring. "We don't know much about what he's been up to. When you left, he... distanced himself. He went off to the woods, training on his own probably. Some think he's still chasing after that desire to kill his brother."

'He distanced himself?' The blond watched his friend carefully, trying to understand what he was getting at. 'And what _did _happen between him and Itachi?' Naruto gazed sadly at nothing in particular. 'So much has changed and still so much hasn't.'

"Quite frankly, he's still a mystery to us," he said, turning his light eyes to meet Naruto's. "As you are."

"Heh." He smiled. "You know, that's not working. I'm not going to tell you, you know. Not now, at least." Naruto frowned. He had made a point to tell everyone why he had left when he was ready, but over the years that he had been gone, the reason slowly left his mind.

'Come to think of it... why did I leave?'

Neji laughed. Naruto had to admit it, but it was pretty damn creepy to hear him laugh. Not that he sounded bad or anything... "It was worth a try, but that wasn't exactly my intention."

"Right, right."

* * *

Kiba was bleeding from the arm and Chouji was, once again, lying amongst a pile of rubble. Sasuke had managed to graze Kiba's arm with a Chidori. 

Kiba winced. "Come on, Chouji!! Get up!!"

No response.

"Of all the people! ARG!!"

Sasuke clutched his left arm, trying desperately to control the pain. He winced. 'Damn it,' he swore inwardly. 'It's no use. No matter how much I try to control it, it just...' he held shut his right eye as a searing pain shot up his arm.

Sakura was panting, kneeling on her knees and hands. 'I-I... I did it!' She knew well enough that, even though Sasuke was the better of all four of them, Kiba wasn't a pushover. His attacks were dangerous and the combination of high speed made them lethal. It was a wonder that she had managed to get by without being scarred up too badly. 'I'm lucky I just have a few cuts and bruises. At least I'll be able to heal these,' she thought. She leaned back and sat on folded her feet behind her, seating on them. She brought her hands near each other and a soft, green light grew and hovered between her palms. The corners of her lips twitched lightly before the light spread to her arms and legs, eventually covering her entire body in a warm, pale aura.

Naruto watched from above. He raised an eyebrow at the sight. 'Whoa, what is that?'

"It's a simple healing method," Neji spoke up.

Naruto's eye twitched. "You like explaining things to me. Do you think I'm dumb or something? And since when did you become the talkative type?"

The brunette smirked and closed his eyes. "Your stupidity has never failed to amaze me I the past, so I don't see why it should be any different now."

"Pfft, bastard." Naruto turned and walked away from Neji. "But I'm not like that anymore," he said to himself, but the words didn't fall upon deaf ears.

Neji sighed lightly.

'What happened to you?'

* * *

"WOOOH!" Lee screeched, punching the air. "ALL RIGHT! Shikamaru, let's go!" 

"Huh? Wha?" His eyes shot open and he glanced around lazily. "Damn... just when I fell asleep. Who in the hell...?" His eyes fell on a certain green clad companion. He looked up at the board.

Rock Lee and Nara Shikamaru vs. Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto

'Geez, I hate this. Why can't I just sleep? Everyone's just so damn troublesome...'

Naruto opened a single eyelid. "Looks like we're up. This is going to be tough."

Neji nodded. However strong he was, he knew it would be a grave mistake to underestimate Shikamaru. He wasn't the first out of their lot to become a chuunin for nothing. On top of that, Lee's with him. He remembered that ability he had seen him use when they were younger and he to admit that his power was almost terrifying at that moment.

Naruto vanished, reappearing in the center of the arena. Neji flipped over the railing, landing gracefully beside his partner. The two waited for Lee to drag Shikamaru down.

"Shikamaru! COME!!" he said, tugging at his collar.

"I'm coming! Geez, you make it seem like you're excited to fight these two," he grumbled. 'He's almost as bad as Ino.' He glanced up at her, screaming and cheering for him.

"GO, SHIKAMARUUU!!"

He sweat dropped. 'Almost...' He turned to his opponent, stretching back, getting out all the kinks in his body. He watched the blond in front of him carefully, a light smile on his lips.

Naruto smiled. "I'm going to get my ass kicked, aren't I?"

The brown-haired chuunin laughed. "Where's your arrogance?"

The blond shrugged and fell into a readying stance. "Ran away? Well, whatever it is, I'll give it my all!" A lie. He fell into his fighting stance. The other three mimicked his movements.

"Lee, you know the plan," Shikamaru said, not moving his eyes from his opponents.

Lee looked at him curiously for a second. "OH, right!"

Naruto knew what they were going to do. He watched as Shikamaru kneeled on the ground, his hands forming a circular shape. It was a habit of his. 'He's studying the surroundings,' Naruto thought. He knew their plan. 'He's going to use his knowledge of his surroundings to his advantage.' He nodded to Neji, who had caught onto this long before him.

'I see,' Neji smirked. 'He's going to trap us in a corner and if that happens, the blows Lee's going to land on us isn't going to leave us looking healthy,' he thought. 'Now the only thing is, when and how?'

The blond slumped his shoulders. "This is the only problem with fighting a whacked up genius," he groaned. Neji shook his head. This wasn't turning out to be much of a battle. "Whatever. Let's go!" He gave a quick nod to his partner and they exchanged understanding glances before taking off. Shikamaru's eyes darted open as he dodged a kunai from Naruto. As expected, Naruto reappeared behind Shikamaru to attack him, but missed as he held a hand up to block the powerful swing. He winced at the pain.

'Since when did he get this fast?'

Naruto flipped back, landing on his feet and pushing forward, pulling out a small blade from his pouch. Shikamaru quickly feinted to the right, his left arm getting slashed slightly. He fell back into a shadowed corner of the room, gripping the small wound. Warm blood trickled from the opening in his flesh, dying his sleeve a deep crimson. He smirked.

"I got you."

* * *

A single tear ran down Lee's face. His eyes were beginning to water from weariness. He fell to one knee. He watched as his rival started breathing heavily, winded from the blows that were dealt to his stomach. Lee smiled in satisfaction. 'I may not have beat him yet, but at least he has finally acknowledged me.' Neji activated his Byakugan, but quickly ended it when his eyes began to sting. He had managed to activate the twirl a few times which was enough to push Lee away, but he was just too fast for him to completely dodge the attack. The collision of forces caused him to be sent backwards as well. 

He looked over at Naruto who seemed to be in perfect condition. 'I can't... lose this.' He ran forward, ready to strike his friend who, in turn, readied himself for the final blows.

Naruto watched Shikamaru carefully. Close range combat was too risky with his shadow technique, but he knew that Shikamaru would be able to capture him in his technique if he were to use a jutsu. It took too much time. He clenched his teeth, carefully looking out for any hand seals.

Shikamaru stayed in his position, his hands forming a circle, thinking. Each passing second unnerved Naruto. 'What is he thinking?'

Figuring that if he gave the boy anymore time, that would develop a strategy and beat them, the blond knelt on one knee, closing his eyes and pressing his palms firmly together. It looked like he was...

_Praying._

The other boy stared at the blond in question, wondering what he was doing. 'What hand seal is that?'

Shikamaru's eyes widened suddenly when an overpowering feeling ran up his spine. In an instant, he was shrouded in darkness, except for a dull red light. The presence was familiar, yet it was somehow cruel, cunning and almost... evil. Everything seemed warmer, hotter. The air became thick and he struggled to take in the much needed oxygen to feed his screaming lungs. Fear slowly crept into his heart. His instincts kicked in and before he knew it, he was running away in terror, trying to get as far away as possible from the dull, blood-red light that grew with each passing second. Shikamaru gasped when he felt his knees give out when a searing pain streaked his entire body, his skin feeling as though it was burning off. Shikamaru wanted to scream, but couldn't find his voice. It was torture.

Then, as fast as it had happened, it all vanished. And he found himself in the arena with Naruto standing in front him. He shuddered. 'It felt... so real. I was actually afraid.' He looked to Naruto who had an apologetic look on his face. 'Why is he...? Could it have been?' he thought. That's when it hit him. 'I guess I have no choice.'

Both Neji and Lee stopped their battle when a strange presence filled the arena. They looked over to Shikamaru and Naruto who were standing in front of each other without even a word being passed between the two. Neji raised an eyebrow. 'That presence,' he thought. 'Something's going on.'

Naruto smiled sadly at Shikamaru. 'I'm sorry, but I really didn't want to fight you two. _That_ technique was the easiest way out.'

He was about to land a swift blow to Shikamaru's stomach when he saw the boy's hand rise. The blond stopped in his tracks and stared at his friend. "Oh," he whispered.

"I forfeit."

Naruto placed his hands on his knees leaning over, bursting out laughing. "S-Shikamaru... same old, same old," he said, through laughs.

He shook his head. "You make me tired. Pft. So damn troublesome... why am I even here?" Shikamaru whined, shoving his hands in his pocket before walking off.

The blond continued laughing. He felt like an idiot. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop the laughter. Warm water collected in his eyes, threatening to spill. It was relief.

Genma frowned. 'Was that it?' He raised a hand in the air. 'But there definitely was something. I could feel it. What else are you hiding? Uzumaki Naruto.'

He smirked and bit down on the toothpick in his mouth. "Winners: Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Sakura cheered her two friends on. "Yeah! Go Neji! Go Naruto!" She said, jumping up and down. 

"Great job Lee, Shikamaru!" Ino yelled, joining in the cheering. It didn't really matter who won. Everyone was happy either way.

Lee pouted, but smiled when he received a trademark grin and thumbs up from his teacher. Yes, Gai made everything better for him.

Rather than cheering like she normally would have done for Naruto and Neji, Hinata's gaze turned to one of fear. 'What... is this feeling?' She watched Naruto curiously as he walked up the stairs to join the others. Turning to Neji who had found his place beside her, she was greeted with a nod.

"Did you...?"

"Yes," he said, nodding. "I felt it, too. In fact, I saw it." The others were praising their teammates despite the rather odd battle. It had seemed as though nothing had happened aside from a few quick, basic moves. Of course, Neji and Hinata thought otherwise. With the gift to wield the Byakugan, they had seen it.

"Naruto's aura," Hinata whispered. "It had turned... red. It was like he was glowing."

Neji frowned. "It wasn't just an aura. It was his chakra," he said. He folded his arms across his chest, and bent his head down thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I felt a similar presence when I fought his in the Chuunin exams a few years ago."

"What?" She couldn't recall every seeing anything similar to it because she had passed out at the time from her injury.

He nodded lightly. "You don't remember because you fainted from your injury." His gaze lowered to the ground. Guilt. She smiled lightly and placed an arm on his shoulder. It was her way of saying, "I forgive you."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway, when I was in the arena, there was some sort of strange, fiery heat being emitted from that chakra. And for a moment, that chakra had transferred to Shikamaru and wrapped itself around him. Only that time, it looked as though it was affecting him somehow. He seemed paralyzed."

"But how? There's no sign of physical injuries," Hinata asked. He shook his head. "Could it have been some form of genjutsu?"

"I'm not sure," he narrowed his eyes slightly at Naruto. There he was again, going along with that façade. "But whatever it is... it's nothing any of us are capable of doing."

* * *

The jounin exams had been an exhilarating experience to witness. The strength of the ninjas had risen incredibly within a few years and new techniques were developed. Everyone had something new to show. Still, as usual, the ones who had been the strongest, remained the strongest. In the final matches, Neji, Sasuke, and Sakura had managed to advance to the jounin positions. Naruto had actually managed to rise to that position as well, but seeing as he already was a jounin, it created a few complications. 

After the matches, Shikamaru went to his favorite spot to think quietly by himself. Sadly, it wasn't quite as peaceful as he had hoped it to be. His rather loud friends, of whom all had numerous questions for the chuunin, had accompanied him. The lazy boy sighed and sat up, gazing at his friends, that same bored look plastered to his face. They had all made a habit of meeting at the same spot to talk or simply spend time with each other. He knew what they wanted to talk about. His battle. The fact that he had lost wasn't that big of a deal to him. The only reason he had participated in the first place was because his father and Asuma had pushed him to do so.

"Shika? What happened with you out there?" Ino asked, curious as to why he had seemed so easily taken out.

He frowned and folded his arms across his chest, sitting in a cross-legged position. "That's what I'd like to know," he said, startling his friends. They had all hoped to get a few answers out of him, but were disappointed to find that he didn't know either. The battle between Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Lee had been the one of the most uneventful if you don't count Neji and Lee's battle, but it definitely struck up conversation. In fact, it was that battle that had raised the most eyebrows. Apparently, Hinata and Neji were not the only ones to sense the strange presence. It had been strong enough for those who were paying attention to feel it.

"It was Naruto," Neji said, only just arriving with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino following closely behind.

The shy girl nodded and twiddled her thumbs together. "Naruto-kun... there was something different about him... when he was fighting," she said, quietly.

Shikamaru's frown deepened. "You all felt it?"

Kiba nodded. "Akamaru here," he looked down and the puppy. He had been frightened earlier and was still seeking shelter in his coat. "He sensed something and told me. Like Neji said, it was definitely Naruto. Something's up with him."

"Not only felt it," Neji said. He narrowed his eyes. "We saw it."

Shikamaru looked away and visibly shuddered at the memory. Those feelings had been too intense for the boy to handle. Ino sat beside him, hoping to give the boy a little comfort. She wasn't sure what was bothering him, but she knew that it had something to do with Naruto.

Sakura, Lee, and TenTen sat down across from Shikamaru and Ino, forming a small circle. TenTen wasn't sure what to do, seeing as she hadn't known the blond that well, but was just as curious as everyone else. "Shouldn't we talk to him?"

Naruto's former teammate smiled and nodded. "I know he wants to talk to us on his own time, but there are a few things I know we all want to find out. We might as well try and figure it out."

'Maybe we can even bring back the old Naruto...'

* * *

"You wanted to see me, old hag?" 

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched before smiling contentedly. "Yes, I did. Congratulations on passing the jounin exams."

He rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, yeah. I think the fact that I was already a jounin ended up in a bit of confusion, though."

She smirked. "Yeah, you brat. They kept me there for an extra half an hour to speak to me about it."

"That's how it is when you're Hokage, ne?" He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a playful manner. "But anyway, what do you need?"

"Well, since you seem to like getting to the point," she began, folding her papers neatly before setting them in the center of her desk. "I'd like to give you a proposal."

"And that is...?

"A new mission."

* * *

Chuunins and jounins alike flooded the hallways outside of Tsunade's room. Several were carrying scrolls, stacks of papers, and random objects back and forth. 

Iruka walked by, carrying his own stack of papers when a door slammed open, sending his papers flying in all directions. "AAH!!" He fell over, and landed rather ungracefully on his posterior. He watched as an angry blond stomped down the hallway. "OI, NARUTOOO! COME BACK HERE! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!!" he screeched.

Tsunade stepped out, holding the side of the door, sighing. Iruka looked up at her. "H-Hokage-sama... I apologize for this mess. It's just that-"

"Don't worry about it, Iruka. It's not your fault."

He leaned forward on his knees, gathering the fallen sheets and putting them back into a neat pile. "May I ask a question?" He waited for her nod of approval before continuing. "Is Naruto all right? I've been worried about him since he's returned."

She sighed again. Her weariness was obvious. "You're not the only one, but he's all right. I believe he's just filled with excitement about his new mission."

The chuunin looked at her quizzically. "New mission?"

She grinned. "Come in, I'll explain it to you."

* * *

Okay, that was by far the WORST chapter. I'm really sorry for all those who wanted the fights to be longer, but I don't have the time. From this chapter, I'm sure you can tell that I'm not very good at writing fight scenes. Too bad I found that out AFTER I said I wasn't going to make the matches short-lived. Ah well. 

Also, sorry it took so long to update. School's really been getting on my back recently. I'm not at home as often anymore and I never get enough time with the work I'm getting. I'll try and get the next one up a little sooner. And if there are a lot of errors, please tell me. I couldn't check the chapter over. Again, not enough time. Well, let me know what you think!


	9. A Blow to the Face

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 9: A Blow to the Face

* * *

"_You wanted to see me, old hag?"_

_Tsunade's eyebrow twitched before smiling contentedly. "Yes, I did. Congratulations on passing the jounin exams."_

_He rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, yeah. I think the fact that I was already a jounin ended up in a bit of confusion, though."_

_She smirked. "Yeah, you brat. They kept me there for an extra half an hour to speak to me about it."_

"_That's how it is when you're Hokage, ne?" He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a playful manner. "But anyway, what do you need?"_

"_Well, since you seem to like getting to the point," she began, folding her papers neatly before setting them in the center of her desk. "I'd like to give you a proposal."_

"_And that is…?_

"_A new mission."_

_His gaze shot up, a bright smile on his face. "You sound serious. Is it something tough?!" He swayed back and forth on the balls of his feet. "So, so? What is it?"_

_She grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, your mission is to…"_

_Naruto stopped and pressed his feet firmly to the ground. 'It's that look… Damn it, maybe I should have stayed home!' He knew that look, and every time he saw it, he ended up doing something stupid because of blackmail or a threat to his career. 'Erp… it can't be that bad…'_

"_Your mission is to clear your apartment and mov-"_

_The blond's jaw dropped. He stood there, gaping at her before everything came crashing down on him. "WHAT? What do you mean?! I like my house, there's no way I'm budging out of there.!" _

_She winced and plugged her ears with her fingers. "Shut up! You're going to make my ears bleed! I haven't even finished." _

_He sighed and plopped himself on the cushioned chair across from Tsunade. "Some mission," he grumbled._

"_What was that?"_

"_Nothing! Nothing! Just give me the details already. I have places to be," he said, remembering that he was supposed to meet his genin team later that day._

"_Hmph. Anyway, as I was saying… you are to clear out your apartment and move in with someone you know," she said. "I will be telling you who you will stay with." Naruto watched with an expression that screamed "I don't give a damn!". _

"_And how long is this?"_

"_One month."_

_Naruto slumped down in his chair even further. "Fine, whatever." He stood up to leave. He grumbled and threw quiet curses at Tsunade._

'_What kinda crap mission is this? It's not even a freaking mission! But then if I refused her, she'd probably just murder me,' he thought. He reached for the door handle when a question struck him._

"_Oi… what's the reason for this mission anyway?"_

_Tsunade looked up, her hair falling forward and framing her face. "Hmm, well that's a secret. Besides, in this case, I don't need to give you a reason."_

_He fumed and gripped the door handle, his knuckles turning white before thrusting it open. "Fine!" He stormed down the hallway._

_She snickered before shouting out. "Oh, and Naruto!! You'll be staying with Uchiha! And don't bother asking for a change!! IT'S FINAL!" Loud screams were heard coming from the hallway. She sighed and leaned back in her seat, smirking. "I love this job."_

"And that's how it went."

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of Iruka's face. Tsunade seemed rather pleased with her 'brilliant plan', but he was fully aware of their past rivalry and he was pretty sure it wasn't any different now. In fact, it could be worse than ever. "Hokage-sama, I understand that you're doing this for Naruto's own benefit, but…" he hesitated. "A-Are you sure this is the best way to go about it? I mean, those two have never really gotten along! Even at the Academy."

Tsunade tapped her pen against the desk thoughtfully. "I'm aware of their _relationship_, but I really don't care." A frown marred her pale visage.

The brunette sighed and lowered his gaze to his hands. "I also understand," he began. "That you are aware of the change in Naruto." Tsunade closed her eyes and rested her head in her palms. "Don't blame yourself."

"I know, I know. It's just that I wasn't even aware that he was suffering. I knew of his past troubles with the villagers because of the demon, but I thought that he was okay with that." A tear slipped through the cracks in her fingers. "I just wish I could have helped him."

Iruka smiled lightly. "I think he'll be fine. Just give him some time," he said, standing up to leave. "Naruto… don't think of him as being lost." He walked out, shutting the door behind him with a soft _click_.

"Jiraiya said the same thing. Maybe I am overreacting." She laughed. "You just had to sneak your way into my heart didn't you, you little brat." She closed her eyes and smiled sadly. "Because... you're just like them."

* * *

The mission had been even more irritating than usual and all of them were getting impatient. Especially Reiji. 

"ARG! Damn you, you crazy cat! I HATE THIS!" Reiji ran out of the house, the back of his white shorts ripped to shreds, revealing a nice pair of bright blue boxers. The small, brown cat launched itself at his left leg. "BAD kitty! BAAAD! AAAH!"

Sachiko's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Reiji!" She jumped forward and grabbed the cat that had latched itself onto the boy's leg. "No! Let go!" Sachiko pulled the cat and successfully tugged it off of his leg. Unfortunately, it decided to go for her hair instead. She screeched. "MY HAIR! Sensei!!"

"Wha?!" Naruto sat up and slammed his head into a branch above him. He rubbed the top of his head and lazily watched the scene before him. Sachiko was screaming at the top of her lungs, a small brown… thing… was attacking her now messy blue hair, Reiji was trying to yank it off. And Daisuke, who had just come out with some food, dropped it and ran towards them, helping Reiji. "Holy crap," was all the blond could say. He leaned forward slightly to go help them, but remembering his previous mission with a strange brown cat, he decided to stay put. "Erm… well, if they can't handle that, then they're never going to be able to get anywhere."

Daisuke continued trying to carefully pry the cat off of her head without ripping her hair in the process while Reiji ran off yelling something involving water. Seconds later, Reiji came around the corner with a long hose, aiming it at Sachiko. He smiled evilly, his emerald eyes shining.

Daisuke stared at the brunette. "Reiji, what are you… ah, shit." He jumped out of the way as a strong spray of water bombarded Sachiko.

"EEK!!" The cat hissed and jumped off of her, retreating back to the house. She fell to her knees. "I. Never. Want. To. See. Another. Cat. Again. In. My. LIFE!!" She growled out each and every syllable. She craned her neck towards Reiji. "Reiji?" She smiled sweetly.

The boy stood there, reveling in the fact that he had thought up a brilliant idea to get the 'demon cat' away. "Yeah?"

'This is it! Maybe she'll reward me with a hug or maybe something else.' He cackled within his mind.

"GET ME A TOWEL!!"

"Eep!" He jumped and ran into the house.

Daisuke dusted off his black shirt. "This is ridiculous. What kind of missions are these?" He sat down on the grassy hill by the large mansion. They had been assigned to take care of a cat owned by a rather _loud_ woman.

Sachiko whimpered at the sight of her hair, squeezing out the water from the blue strands. Reiji came running up the hill, tossing her a white towel. She smiled and thanked him, toweling her hair. He looked around. "Hey, where's Naruto-sensei?"

Daisuke sighed and pointed up towards the tree behind them. "There." Reiji ran past him. The dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow when he noticed a tear in the back of Reiji's shorts. He slapped his forehead. "You moron. Why don't you go change your damn shorts before anything else!"

He turned and glared at his teammate. "Shut up! I will later!"

"Whatever. Walk around like that then."

A light blush crept into his cheeks as he realized how ridiculous it probably _did_ look. Of course, he wasn't going to lose in an argument with _him_. "Fine, I will!"

"Go ahead. Just don't yell at me when you get insulted."

"I don't care!"

Sachiko looked from both boys and sighed. "Do you guys have to fight over everything? Sheesh. It's okay, Daisuke. He'll live. I don't think anyone's going to be looking there anyway. Or, I hope so," she said, smiling at the two.

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that. There are a lot of strange people around, you know?"

The three turned around. Naruto was wearing his jounin outfit, but a black cloth was still tied to his forehead. The Konoha headband was still nowhere in sight. Daisuke grunted. "Strange, huh?"

Reiji nodded. "You mean like you?" Sachiko smacked him over the head.

"Don't say that, stupid!" She whispered.

"Let's just go. I don't want to be here right now."

The three nodded and picked up their backpacks, running down the path to catch up with their teacher who had walked ahead of them.

"Naruto-sensei! Wait!" Sachiko called after him, gasping for air when she finally reached his side. Reiji and Daisuke had fallen behind, quarreling again over something. She stopped and waited. "You guys, can't you just stop that already? I swear, you guys argue over _everything_. And I mean _everything_." But her words fell upon deaf words since the two continued their bickering.

"Shut up, you bastard!"

"Whatever."

Naruto closed his eyes, frowning.

The noise didn't stop.

"_I'll beat you! Just you watch!"_

He dug his fingers into his palms, trying to ignore it. It didn't stop.

"_You wish… moron."_

He held an arm out, blocking their path. "Shut up, you two!!"

Reiji squeaked and jumped back. They stopped. Sachiko gasped and both she and Daisuke took a step away from him. "S-Sensei?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "I'm sorry…" he held a gloved palm out, staring at it. He sighed and looked up at a sky of different colored leaves. "I'm just frustrated, but seriously," he said, turning towards Daisuke and Reiji. "You two _really_ need to stop that. You're teammates. So act like it! Arguing over nothing gets you nowhere. Trust me, I know what it's like."

The three relaxed slightly, realizing that he was back to normal. Reiji felt slightly guilty. It didn't occur to him at the time, but he finally noticed that the blond had been stressed all afternoon. "What happened?" he pressed.

"It's nothing. Just stressed out about a new mission."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you'll be gone?"

Naruto laughed. "You sound excited about it!" Sachiko chuckled lightly. "Well, too bad for you, but no… I'm not going to be gone. I can still torture you. Hehehe…" The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"I never said anything about wanting you to leave," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Ah, so you WANT me to stay then! I never knew you loved me so much!"

Daisuke's eyes twitched. "I never said that either…"

Naruto sighed and ruffled his raven hair, much to the boy's dislike. "Just no fun." He picked up the pace, leaving the three trailing behind, expecting them to catch up, but they didn't.

"I still don't buy the cheery attitude," Sachiko mumbled, tying her frazzled, blue hair into a low ponytail.

Reiji nodded. "Yeah, that was kinda freaky. He usually never gets mad like that." The three continued walking in silence when Reiji was struck with a 'brilliant' idea. "Hey, hey! I have an idea!"

Sachiko stared at him. "Hm?"

"Why don't we follow him?"

"Forget it."

"Blah! Like Naruto-sensei said, you're no fun. Come on!" He jabbed Daisuke's arm repeatedly. "I want to know!"

The dark-haired boy slapped aside his teammates hand and sped up slightly. "It's not like it would work anyway. He'd sense our presence within seconds."

Sachiko sighed. 'It sounded like fun, but… he's right. Noo!'

"We can always make up an excuse!" Reiji fought back.

"Oh? And like what?"

"Err… well, when I think of one I'll tell you!"

Daisuke smirked. "Exactly. We have nothing. There's no way I'm getting involved with this, so just drop it."

* * *

"Phase one… executed." 

Reiji nodded. "Phase two… executed."

Sachiko and Reiji squinted through the leaves that hid them from view. There was something going on with their teacher and they were determined to find out exactly what that _something_ was. Which leads to why they were now hiding in a tree that gave them a clear view into the window of someone's room. Now, if only they could find out whom the room belonged to.

They had managed to complete the first to phases of their mission. Phase one: track and locate the subject. After an hour of running around the entire village, they smacked themselves in the head and headed for the place that their _subject _would most likely be at; Ichiraku.

Phase two: follow the subject. Once they had located the _subject _the three quietly followed him to his destination. It was as easy as stealing candy from a baby! Well, if you don't count the four times that he had actually spotted them. Luckily, they had managed to give him clever excuses like, "I dropped my wallet here" or "My cat ran away and I swear I saw it run by here!". Oh, yes. They were geniuses.

"What am I doing here…?" Daisuke slumped his shoulders. "I. Hate. My. Life." He smacked his head against the tree with each word.

"Shh! He'll hear us!" Reiji whispered, holding a finger up to his mouth.

After several tries at piquing Daisuke's curiosity, Sachiko and Reiji finally managed to drag him along on their so-called 'mission'. It's true he was curious about his teacher's sudden outburst earlier that day, but he wasn't going to let them know that. It wasn't exactly normal to run around poking into your teacher's affairs. Besides, it wasn't his business. So, why should he care?

'Damn Reiji into dragging me into this!' He scolded himself in the back of his mind. 'But… I could have just walked away.' He sighed . 'Damn my curiosity.'

There was a soft cracking noise.

Daisuke's head shot up. He glanced around. There was no one. He looked over to Sachiko and Reiji, but they returned the same confused glances. He was about to go back to watching for his teacher when he felt an arm on his left shoulder. He froze against the touch and instinctively reached for a kunai, but his hand was caught.

"Crap!" Reiji stood up, but slipped off, falling to the ground.

"Reiji!!" Sachiko screeched.

He twitched on the ground. "Ouch… That hurt."

Daisuke's eyes widened and he turned around slowly only to meet eyes of the deepest and purest blue. "S-Sensei," he whispered. He snatched his hand away and did a back flip off of the tree, reaching out a hand to pull up Reiji.

"I knew you three were up to something. Those excuses were horrible," he said, hiding his urge to laugh at their startled expressions. 'At least they were better than Kakashi-sensei's,' he thought. He sweat dropped. 'Those were just… awful.' He chuckled softly to himself.

"Erm, you see sensei… W-We were j-just trying to…" Sachiko looked down at her teammates. "Our teamwork!" She smiled. "Those two always argue over everything and we finally decided that we would practice our stealth together by following you." Her voice returned to normal as she gained confidence. "It was a practice mission!"

"Ah, I see." He nodded approvingly at the three.

Sachiko did a mental victory dance. 'Yes! He bought it!'

Reiji beamed. 'Go, Sachiko! I knew I always liked you!' Daisuke smirked beside him.

"Good job, you three," he paused and smiled at them. "That was the best lie yet. Actually, that was just about the only decent one."

All three's jaws dropped. Reiji swore inwardly.

Naruto laughed and knelt by Sachiko, tilting his head so he wouldn't hit the branch above him. "So, why were you guys following me? The _real_ reason this time. No excuses."

Reiji fidgeted with the sleeves of his long-sleeved, dark green shirt. He shifted slightly in uneasiness. "Uh… well… you see…"

"I said no excuses."

Daisuke sighed. "Your outburst earlier. We were… concerned," he said, trying to piece the words together carefully. "So, we thought that if we followed you, we might have been able to find out something."

"I'm glad to hear that you were worried, but you shouldn't go poking around like that."

Sachiko hung her head in shame and Reiji looked away. They had been caught red-handed and they were feeling guilty. But Sachiko still wanted to know something.

"Um, Naruto-sensei? Whose house is this?" She pointed to the large house.

"Hm?" Naruto looked up. "Oh. This is where I'll be staying from now on." He thought of something. "Oh, and be sure to drop by a lot. I'm sure he'll like some guests." He rubbed his palms together.

'Hehehehe. He'll probably hack my head off, but he deserves it. Besides, if _he's _company, then I'm better off talking to a wall. These guys will be fun to have around,' he thought to himself.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "He? Who's _he_?"

"A former teammate," Naruto said, jumping down from the tree. He tugged at the black cloth tied around his forehead. "But that's all you need to know. No more question. Go home!"

Sachiko sighed. "All right. Bye!" She waved and ran off, latching herself onto Daisuke's arm. Reiji waved as well and ran off with the other two.

Naruto returned the wave, watching them leave.

"I hope you didn't mean what you said by having those three over a lot."

The blond ran a hand through his sun-kissed hair. "Better believe it. Hey, hey," he waved his hands in front of him defensively. "You're not exactly wonderful company." He folded his arms and smirked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's just get your stuff in the house. I don't want to be out too long." Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"I can see you doing that you know."

Naruto folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah, that's the point."

"Let's just go!"

* * *

"_Hey, brat!"_

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Brat…?" _

_Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a side of the entrance to his house. "Tsunade's asked me to inform you on Naruto's new mission. I'm here to give you the details."_

'_Naruto…' he thought. _

"_Wait, why are you telling me about Naruto's missions? It has nothing to do with me."_

"_Wrong!" he chimed. He grinned. "He'll be living with you for a month! Don't ask me about the reason, just cooperate. Besides, how bad can it be?"_

_Sasuke's eyes widened. "What?" _

_Jiraiya sighed. 'I thought this guy was supposed to be a genius.'_

"_You heard me. Naruto will be staying at your home for one month. That's all there is to it. Where he's sleeping, the food, everything… all that's decided by you two."_

_The raven-haired boy blinked before collecting himself. "Right… whatever. When does this… mission start."_

"_Today!" The sennin smiled and vanished within seconds. _

Sasuke stared at the ceiling, his arms folded behind his head. 'I'm stuck with Naruto in my house. Now what am I supposed to do?'

"Oi, Sasuke!!" A loud voice shook him from his thoughts. He sat up and looked around the room. "SASUKE!!" He winced.

"Damn it," he hissed. "He's loud even from up here." He pushed aside his blankets and slipped out of bed, walking towards the bathroom across the hallway. He sighed and pushed his dark strands from his eyes. "What is it?" He could hear the water running. Sasuke pushed the door open. He glanced around and saw a tub filled with water. He froze at the next sight. Naruto was wearing a towel that barely covered his knees and was opening various cupboards looking for something. He could already feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and quickly spun around. "Y-You idiot! Why don't you put some clothes on?!"

"Hm? Oh, you finally got here. Geez, what took you so long? I swear, you've gotten slower or stupider over the years," Naruto teased. He'd never miss a chance to insult the other boy.

_Even if he couldn't call him a friend anymore…_

Sasuke clenched his fists and made a swift turn to throw back a witty reply, but immediately regretted his decision when he found Naruto standing merely inches away from him. His face began to heat up again and he lost his train of thought. He could only stare.

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Hello? Oi, Sasuke. You there?" He waved a hand in front of his face. And then, as if in some sort of trance, Sasuke reached forward and encircled his fingers around Naruto's wrists, pulling the smaller boy's body towards him.

Naruto gasped and stepped back, tripping over the edge of the bathtub. "Ah!"

He thrust an arm out to grab the only thing within his reach. Sasuke's shirt. He fell, dragging the other boy down with him. Sasuke's eyes widened as he tripped over the edge and fell in as well, spilling almost half of the water out of the tub. The blond slowly opened an eyelid and looked up. He blushed. Sasuke was hovering inches above him, his wet, blue shirt clung to him, outlining his slim figure perfectly. His lips were slightly parted and he was panting lightly and his warm breath teased the blond's exposed chest.

Naruto watched Sasuke carefully. His eyes were closed. Naruto bit his bottom lip, resisting the powerful urge to touch the pale skin that was so close within his grasp. His fingers twitched and he lifted them to carefully, but Sasuke's eyes shot open and he grabbed Naruto's wrist. He looked at the small, tempting flesh beneath him, before looking into the boy's eyes. Naruto wanted to look away, to escape those eyes that seemed to see everything. His thoughts, his heart, his soul. Those piercing black eyes that used to seem devoid of all emotions. But he couldn't. A force stronger than his own will kept his eyes locked… trapped beneath those eyes.

Naruto gasped lightly when Sasuke descended upon him, kissing his neck. The slow movement of his lips gently caressed his heated skin. Sasuke lifted his head slightly and began trailing soft kisses up the blond's neck. His hands slid down from Naruto's wrists to his hands. He interlaced his fingers with Naruto's, slowly pulling them up beside the blond's head. Raven hair fell past his eyes as he pulled away to look into Naruto's cerulean eyes.

The sight of the smaller boy's almost dazed look and flushed cheeks becoming incredibly tempting. He leaned forward and finally claimed what he had been craving for. Sasuke threw down all control and gave himself up to his burning desires. He planted soft kisses on Naruto's lips, not wanting anything in return, but just needing to _feel_. He heard the blond's weak murmur of his name against his lips and was surprised when he felt the smaller boy kissing him back. It was bare, but he felt it and it was enough to stimulate his hunger.

Naruto reached up and slipped his hands around Sasuke's neck and pulled him closer, tilting his head to the side, allowing Sasuke to deepen the kiss. He found confidence and let his tongue dart out on the soft, pink flesh, as he coaxed Naruto's lips apart, begging for entrance. His mind soared when Naruto's lips parted for him. Naruto leaned forward, begging for more. Giving the blond what he wanted, Sasuke allowed his tongue to venture out, and sighed in satisfaction as he entered Naruto's warm mouth.

Sasuke released Naruto's hands, trailing one hand down to grasp his waist and lifted the other to gently caress the blond's cheek. In the midst of all this, reality slowly dawned on him. The soft flesh pressed against his lips, pleading for more. The tender touches that caused his body to react in the most sinful ways. The warmth that soothed his aching body. His aching heart. But at the same time… it hurt. It hurt because of the pain and betrayal that was buried within his mind that came from the very same person who also gave him those pleasures. And yet he wanted it.

"No more," he whispered. He wanted to fight against it. Against the strange sensations that coursed through his entire body, but it wouldn't stop. Sasuke continued his assault upon Naruto's mouth and body. He had lost his mind to his heart.

"No," he murmured weakly against Sasuke's lips. A single tear slid down the side of his cheek and was brushed aside by Sasuke's fingers.

_I can't…_

Naruto's eyes shot open. "No!" He pushed the figure above him with all his strength, sending Sasuke falling backwards. He slammed his head against the wall of the tub.

Naruto fell forward onto his knees, staring at Sasuke in shock. A thin stream of crimson trickled down the side of Sasuke's neck. He searched the dark-haired boy's obsidian eyes. The only thing he could find was remorse. What hurt more was that it was genuine. Naruto bit his lip, breaking the thin flesh. "I-I'm sorry…" He clutched his towel and ran out of the bathroom, ignoring the liquid dripping onto the floor. He just wanted to get away.

Sasuke watched the blond's retreating figure and touch a hand to his neck. He felt something warm and wet.

It was blood.

'When he's around, it's like everything's back to how it used to be. How it was before I left, before he left,' he smiled sadly. 'You're still going along with that façade, aren't you?'

He sighed. "This was my fault. Do you hate me now… Naruto?"

* * *

This chapter was really hard for me to write for some reason. I had to really think about what I was trying to say. School's so stressful. Oh well. Hope this mushy scene was enough for everyone who wanted it. Oh, and I hope there aren't too many errors. I should really be sending these to my beta reader some time soon, but for now... if there are a lot of errors... well we're stuck with them. (ducks out of the way of flying tomatos) Don't hate me!! 

Well, let me know what you think!


	10. I Remember

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

**Fragile Bonds**

Chapter 10: I Remember

* * *

Naruto shot up in bed and glanced around the room, struggling to take in air. His clothes clung to his body from the sweat that had formed on his body. His body shook lightly and he held his hands in his face, pulling his legs to his chest. 

'Was it all real?'

He could still feel it. The soft caresses that had been placed upon his body and the warm breath that made his skin tingle… the touches that were given by _him_. Then again, had it really happened or had it been some sort of morbid dream? The blond shook his head and stepped out of bed, determined to confirm his suspicions.

'Yep, it definitely didn't happen. I think I've been drinking too much,' he thought. 'Erp, wait… I don't drink.' Just as his hand reached the door handle, he finally began to notice that it was slightly cold in the room despite how warm he had felt under the soft blankets. He looked down and all thoughts of leaving the room left him.

"AAH!! IM NAKED!!"

* * *

The wails from the room above echoed throughout the house. 

"What the?!" Sasuke flopped off the couch in shock, quickly standing up and looking around. He winced and rubbed his lower back.

'Damn, that actually hurt.'

Just then, a quick blur of yellow shot by and before he knew it, he was back on the floor, landing rather ungracefully on his rear. "Damn it, Naruto! Will you just stay put for ONE second?!" Waking up from yells and hitting the floor wasn't exactly what he thought of as a nice way to wake up. He stood up to crack his back, only to be met with a finger pointed at his face. He frowned at the intruding… thing. Sasuke slapped it away, but there it was again.

"YOU! What did you do?!"

The raven-haired boy just watched the boy with a detached expression. 'What's he talking about now…?'

"I woke up in bed na-na-NAKED! I know you had something to do with it, you sick pervert!" accused the blond.

"What are you trying to accuse me of?"

That was an odd question. "Erm, I-I don't know exactly, but I know you had something to do with it!"

Sasuke sighed. This was getting ridiculous. "To do with _what_?" he pressed.

"I woke up naked!"

"And your point?"

"ARGH! You know what?! Never mind!!" And with that, he ran up the steps.

Sasuke smirked, watching the smaller boy's retreating form. "You went straight to the room in a towel. You probably just didn't change out of them," he paused, thinking he had sounded a bit too nice. "Idiot."

Naruto blushed. Bathroom. Towel. Tub. It all came rushing back and he suddenly felt light-headed. 'So, it had happened. No. No, no, no!' He rushed off to his room, slamming the door behind him.

'That wasn't the reaction I was expecting,' he thought wearily. 'But since when did that guy make any sense?' He smirked. 'But that's why… I feel this way. So unpredictable.'

He hadn't always had this affection for the boy. When they had been apart of Team 7, Naruto had come off as someone who would be a burden. Just another annoying, loudmouthed idiot. He was someone who would block his way to achieving a greater power that would allow him to overcome his brother. But as time passed, the arguments, the name-calling, and the little fights that they would have every now and then slowly became a source of comfort.

_There's someone who can understand me._

And like the fool he was, he ran away with his tail between his legs. The new feelings… they had frightened him.

Afterwards, everything began to fall apart. Orochimaru had cursed and marked him. Just when he had finally thrown everything down, thrown away his friendships, Naruto just had to come into the picture. He dragged him straight back to Konoha. What made him come back, he couldn't figure out, but all he knew was that he hated the blond for it. For bringing him back and for getting in the way of his ambition. He had ruined it all. And so he lashed out.

Sasuke laughed an empty laugh. "I failed at both. My ambition," he glanced at the door to Naruto's room. "And my life." He frowned. "But I _will_ change things."

* * *

So, it was true then. Naruto thought that it might have been some sort of warped fantasy (if you could call it that), but it had happened. That incident in the bathroom and that kiss. 

A gentle breeze graced his lightly pink-tinged cheeks. He was back at the training grounds where his old team had been formed again, standing far onto the lake, enjoying the feeling of the heated water gently grazing his skin. Something about the place seemed to bind him to it. With his eyes closed, the blond outstretched his arms to the sky, welcoming the comforting light the sun brought him. And he remained like that. Finally at peace, finally free of the burdens that lay heavily on his shoulders. 'If only this feeling could last forever.'

_But it can't… and it won't._

He slowly opened his eyes, his eyes meeting with the bright blue of the sky so unlike his now dulled orbs.

_Why?_

The sorrow slowly crept its way into his being, draining him. Those words had been uttered so desperately and it cut at him. It was a simple answer, so why couldn't he answer it? 'Why had I left?' His arms dropped to his sides weakly and his gaze fell to the rippling water beneath his feet. Jiraiya had always asked him the same question and he had always given him the same answer.

"_Naruto, tell me. Why did you leave?"_

"_Because I wanted to get away."_

"_Get away from what? The villagers? This isn't about them anymore, I can see it, kid. Tell me the _real_ reason."_

_And when he really thought about it, the real answer was, "…I don't know."_

For three years, he had convinced himself that the reason was because of the villagers. The hateful glares and the insults had all become too much for him to bear. Still, every time he managed to dig up a reason, it seemed false even to his own mind.

Naruto lifted calloused fingers, a sign of a life of hardships, to his thin lips. 'But now, after three years, I think I finally know why. I finally remember,' he thought, a light smile playing across his lips.

_Why did you leave me?_

"Maybe… maybe now I can answer you," he paused, catching a leaf caught in the wind. "Sasuke. Along with everyone else."

* * *

"You see, the reason I left was because I-well, I… Gah!! This isn't working!" His brilliant plan of sitting down and explaining things to his friend had been tossed out the window. After going over countless scenarios in his head, every single one seemed to end in an awkward situation. Of course, why had he expected anything less. "That's it. I really don't care. I'm just going to GO down there and do this! Right now!!" 

He yanked his light blue jacket of the hanger and slid it over his black shirt, marching down the hallway with determination. Well, at least until he was greeted by a site that almost sent him tumbling down the stairs. In the middle of the living room was none other than Uchiha Sasuke who, by the way, was lacking a shirt, exposing his pale skin to everyone who decided to peek in through the windows. The blonde's jaw did a magnificent drop to the floor as he blushed furiously.

He was about to throttle the boy, but something about his features stopped him. He looked peaceful.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, Naruto carefully tiptoed over to the boy and sat down in front of him, crossing his legs. "Humph. Bastard better wake up soon," he muttered.

It was then that he spared the raven-haired enigma a glance. Sasuke, with his eyes closed, was sitting cross-legged as well, leaning his elbows on his knees with his hands lightly intertwining. His soft features weren't marred by contempt, but actually looked gentle. Slowly, without his own knowledge, his rich, blue pools carefully took in every detail of the lithe and alluring figure before him. The way his chest would lightly rise and fall with each, short breath. The toned muscles that shaped his entire body, which boasted strength.

Naruto's eyes slowly trailed lower and lower, until…

"I never knew you took to staring at people."

The blond literally jumped up, but slipped and fell backwards from shock. Luckily for him, Sasuke had grabbed the boy's hand in time, pulling the boy down towards him.

"Ai!"

_Thump._

After a few seconds, Naruto built up the courage to crack open an eyelid and immediately regretted it. He was sprawled over Sasuke's half-naked form on the floor, his face planted in the boy's chest. He clumsily tried to push himself off of the boy, but again slipped and landed straight on Sasuke, earning a muffled, "Oof!"

"Y-You bastard! W-What was that for?!" he stuttered, trying desperately to hold onto what dignity he had left. It wasn't working.

Sasuke sighed and sat up, gripping the blonde's waist and hoisting him up onto his feet. "Hn." He took the dark blue shirt from the couch and slipped it over his body, cracking his knuckles afterwards. He slid his hands into his pockets and walked off, leaving a very red-faced Naruto to his duties as a space cadet.

Naruto snapped out of it and spun around on his heels, pointing at Sasuke. "H-Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"

"To the kitchen. Where else?" he said, rolling his eyes. "You can starve if you want, but I don't want a similar fate." The blond muttered several curses under his breath that would have mad mothers cover their children's ears. "Instead of throwing death threats at me that you probably couldn't even back up, why don't you just come eat?" After deciding that he wasn't exactly lightening the mood, he grunted and turned back to the stove. "I'm making ramen."

"RAMEN?!" He perked up and sped into the kitchen, squeezing his friend from behind.

"Ah! Naruto, what do you think you'r-" he said, blood rushing to his cheeks.

"Thank you! Here, here! Let me help!"

Sasuke blushed and pushed back the urge to just hold the smaller boy. He smiled. 'Even the smallest thing can make you smile, can't it?'

_That's why I feel this way…_

* * *

This… was very short, but at least I got it done. I was a bit stuck on how to write out the thoughts I had for it, so this is what I got! I added little bits of random things in there, but oh well. I'm sorry that I took so long to update. I'm really happy that there are so many people who actually follow this and I appreciate you being patient with me. I'm going to start working on my other fiction, too. 

So, here's your chapter! Let me know what you think! Oh, and thanks for all the nice reviews. I really appreciate them, you know? Hehe.


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